Alawwal, SABB proposed merger still on the table

The proposed merger between Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank (SABB) is being pursued by stakeholders, despite belated agreement on valuation and approvals, financial sector sources told Reuters.

If the merger proceeded as anticipated, the resulting bank will be Saudi Arabia's third largest by assets and second largest by capital.

In April 2017, Alawwal, 40 percent owned by Royal Bank of Scotland, and SABB, 40 percent owned by HSBC Holdings, started preliminary talks for combining business.