The Arab National Bank is a public company listed on the Saudi TDWL stock exchange since January 1993. Arab National Bank is a company founded in 1930 in Jerusalem with a starting capital of 5,000 Palestinian pounds.
ANB provides commercial and Islamic banking services, operates in the following segments:
- retail banking services (deposit, credit and investment products for individuals);
- corporate banking services (loans, deposits for corporate and institutional clients);
- treasury banking services (trading and investment portfolios, risks of financing, liquidity, currencies, and commissions);
- investment and brokerage services (investment, asset management related to the maintenance, management, organization, consulting and custody of securities).
Historically, a turning point in the growth of the bank: after the British Mandate Authority left Palestine in 1948, the Arab National Bank lost its branches in Jaffa and Haifa. When customers who were forced to leave the country requested deposits, the Arab National Bank fully paid all claims. This has caused tremendous clients’ loyalty, which prevails even now.
- During the 1940s and 1950s, the Arab National Bank expanded its branch network in the Arab world and became a catalyst for the development of the Arab economy at a time when no one wanted to take risks.
- In 1961, Arab National Bank opened its first international branch and became the first the Arab financial institution in Switzerland.
- At the same time, the bank expanded its services in new areas of business: in the 90s, Arab National Bank included investment banking in the list.
- In 2006, Europe Arab Bank (EAB), the London-based subsidiary of Arab Bank, appeared. The bank acquires 50% of Turkland Bank and 50% of the insurance company Al Nisr Al Arabi.
Since its founding, ANB has become one of the ten largest banks in the Middle East. Today it has the largest Arab banking network with more than 600 branches on five continents, covering key financial markets: London, Dubai, Singapore, Geneva, Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, and Bahrain.
According to representatives of the Arab National Bank, even in troubled times, the Bank has never violated payments to clients or partners, fulfilling obligations, regardless of the political and economic situation.
For example, the Board of Directors of the Arab National Bank recommended paying dividends in cash to the shareholders of 750 million rials for the first half of 2019. The bank will pay 5% of the face value of the share as a cash dividend or SAR 0.5 per share.
ANB Financial Achievements and Best Bank Award.
Arab National Bank published interim results for the second quarter of 2019 – net profit jumped 19.6% to 894,2 million riyals compared to 747,2 million riyals for the same period of 2018.
The increase in net income was driven by a 5.3% increase in total operating income, net income from special commissions and the share of profits from associates.
- Total revenue increased by 18.95% to 1,95 billion riyals for the three months from April to June 2019.
- ANB revenues reached 3,8 billion riyals during the first half of 2019, an increase of 22.6%.
- By the end of June 2019, assets of Arab National Bank increased 1.8% to 170,9 billion rials
- Customer deposits rose 1.9 % year-on-year to 131,9 billion riyals in the six months from January to June.
It is not surprising that the London magazine World Finance again named Arab National Bank “The Best Retail Bank in Saudi Arabia” in 2019. World Finance awards based on the opinion of the panel of judges, which consists of an elite group of experts in this field.
The determination of the winner is based on a set of basic standards, including the bank’s ability to return steady, stable growth rates, plan effectively, introduce new services, and improve relations with customers.
Given the history, status, and success of the Arab National Bank in the region and abroad, it has excellent opportunities to meet the long-term financial goals of even novice traders.