Saudi’s ANB invests $38.2m in new Iraqi bank

Reuters

• Arab National Bank is opening a new bank in Iraq
• ANB will own 20% of Arab Bank Iraq
• Tadawul-listed ANB has a market cap of SAR40bn

Saudi Arabia’s Arab National Bank (ANB) will invest $38.2 million to set up a new bank in Iraq, as it looks to boost trade exchange for its customers and expand into new markets.

ANB, one of the kingdom’s largest lenders with assets of SAR214.04 billion ($57 billion), will own a 20 percent stake in the newly formed Arab Bank Iraq.

The investment in the new venture will be made in collaboration with Jordan’s Arab Bank. ANB is 40 percent owned by Arab Bank.

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In a statement published on Saudi’s Tadawul stock exchange, ANB said the move will facilitate and support trade exchange for its customers, help diversify income sources and its expansion into new markets.

ANB currently operates 140 branches in Saudi Arabia and one branch in the UK.

Last October Cashee, a UAE-based digital banking platform covering the Mena region, raised $3 million in a series A funding round led by ANB and its investment arm ANB Capital.

ANB is currently listed on the Tadawul with a market cap of SAR40 billion ($10.6 billion).

The bank’s net profits reached SAR1.06 billion during the first quarter of 2023, representing a 64.06 percent year-on-year increase.

On a quarterly basis, its net profits rose by 35.02 percent from SAR791 million in the last quarter of 2022.

ANB’s earnings per share increased to SAR0.71 ($0.18) in the first quarter of 2023, compared with SAR0.43 in the same period last year.

Assets climbed by 4.60 percent to $57 billion on an annual basis while investments declined by 2.08 percent to SAR42.77 billion ($11.40 billion) over the same period.