Saudi bank lending to rise in 2010, says NCB

Banks in Saudi Arabia will lend more this year as confidence is growing and lenders become less risk averse, Reuters has reported, citing the chief economist of state-owned National Commercial Bank. 'For this year we will see a faster growth of lending compared to last year but it will be gradual,' Said al-Shaikh was quoted as saying. Bank credit in the kingdom stood at 736.9 billion riyals at the end of last year, down from 744.8 billion riyals at end-2008.