The Arab world's third largest bank, Saudi American Bank (Samba), saw its profits rise 10.7 percent in 2000 to two billion riyals ($542 million), the bank said Wednesday, January 31. Total assets rose almost five percent to 81 billion riyals ($21.6 billion), the bank said in a statement without elaborating, while deposits increased more than eight percent to 56.1 billion riyals ($15 billion).
"The results of the year clearly reflect the efficiencies resulting from the consolidation of the operations" of Samba and United Saudi Bank in a July 1999 merger, said the bank's chairman, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Hamad al-Ghosaib.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer and exporter, has enjoyed renewed economic strength over the last year on the back of high crude prices. — (AFP)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
