SABB said to hire Goldman Sachs as merger advisor

Saudi British Bank (SABB) has appointed Goldman Sachs to advise on a planned merger with Alawwal Bank, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

The accounts of the two banks could be consolidated by the end of 2017, but the merger would take longer, the sources said.

SABB and Alawwal in April said they had agreed to start talks on a merger that could create the kingdom's third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion.

British banks have stakes in both lenders. HSBC Holdings has a 40 percent stake in SABB, while Royal Bank of Scotland owns 40 percent of Alawwal via its acquisition of ABN AMRO.

Alawwal Bank has picked JPMorgan as a financial advisor on the deal, Reuters reported on Monday.

Alawwal Bank is 21.76 percent-owned by the Al Olayan Family and 10.5 percent-owned by the Saudi government.

Meanwhile, SABB is 16.98 percent-owned by Al Olayan Family, while the Saudi government holds a 9.74 percent stake.