Al-Rajhi Bank replaces CEO

11 May 2015

Change follows fall in profits

  • CEO of Al-Rajhi Bank Suleiman Abdul Aziz al-Zabin has resigned
  • Steve Bertamini will become CEO on 18 May
  • The bank’s profit fell by 11 per cent in the first quarter to SR1.52bn

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rajhi Bank has announced the resignation of its CEO, Suleiman Abdul Aziz al-Zabin.

He will be replaced by Steve Bertamini on 18 May.

Al-Rajhi Bank’s net profit in the first quarter of 2015 was SR1.52bn ($405.3m), an 11 per cent fall compared with the same quarter in 2014.

This follows an 8.1 per cent fall in net profits from SR7.4bn ($2bn) in 2013 to SR6.8bn in 2014.

Bertamini was previously group executive director and CEO of consumer banking at the UK’s Standard Chartered. He left the company in January 2014, due to the integration of the consumer and wholesale banking arms.

Standard Chartered warned in December 2013 that its consumer banking division would record a 10 per cent fall in annual operating profit, the first for more than a decade.

Al-Rajhi Bank was the only major Saudi Bank to post falling profits in 2014, due to its exposure to retail markets.

Loan growth in Saudi Arabia is slowing, partly due to lower oil prices affecting confidence. New mortgage regulations also hampered the retail sector, the most affected area.

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