NCB, Samba receive nod from SAMA on planned merger

Logos of NCB, Samba 

National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Samba Financial Group received on Feb. 1, 2021, the approval of the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) for the merger and a number of relevant matters, the banks said in separate statements to Tadawul.

The two banks also received, on Jan. 28, 2021, the approval of the General Authority for Competition (GAC) for the planned economic concentration.

The merger is still subject to a number of conditions, including obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals and the approvals of the banks’ shareholders.

The merger is expected to be completed in H1 2021.

In October 2020, NCB entered into a legally binding merger agreement with Samba, under which both banks agreed to take the necessary measures to implement a merger pursuant to the Companies Law, as well as the merger and acquisition regulations issued by the capital market authority, Argaam reported.