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| Description of company and purpose of project |
| The proposed project consists of a long term local currency loan of up to $50 million to Saudi British Bank (the “SABB” or the Bank”), based in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. SABB is one of Saudi Arabia’s leading commercial banks, offering a wide range of financial services, including corporate, personal and investment banking. The proposed project is aimed at providing much needed long term financing to support the growth of SABB’s nascent mortgage lending program. SABB started its mortgage lending program three years ago and is now the leading provider of mortgage loans in Saudi Arabia. |
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| Project sponsor and major shareholders of project company |
| SABB was established in 1978 with the takeover of the Saudi operations of the British Bank of the Middle East (BBME). SABB is now a joint venture bank with 60% owned by Saudi nationals and 40% owned by HSBC. With total assets of around $12.3 billion as of end 2003 and market share of 9.4%, SABB is currently the fifth largest bank in Saudi Arabia. The Bank has signed a Technical Services Agreement (TSA) with HSBC. The TSA provides SABB with access to the systems, technology and expertise of HSBC group, and enables the Bank to offer its client new products and services still unavailable in Saudi Arabia. |
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| Total project cost and proposed IFC investment |
| The total financing targeted under the long term funding mobilization program is estimated at around $100 million. IFC is expected to provide up to $50 million under this proposed project and the remaining $50 million will come from other parallel lenders. The IFC loan will be in local currency and may be structured as a Sharia compliant instrument. |
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| Location of project and description of site |
| SABB’s head office is in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Bank currently has 77 branches including a branch in London which provides a full range of banking services. |
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| Project Development Impact and IFC's Role |
The project would have an strong developmental impact the main elements of which can be summarized as :
- a significant contribution towards improving the legal and regulatory environment for housing finance in Saudi Arabia. The technical assistance program being implemented together with the project should help remove the several major obstacles that currently impede the development of the Saudi Mortgage market;
- establishment of a best practice model for Sharia- compliant housing finance loans; and
- contribution to the country’s broader economic development by encouraging housing finance which has been a proven driver of economic development. The successful development of the primary market should also pave the way towards the development of secondary mortgage markets in the country which would offer a more permanent funding solution to the country’s mortgage lending institutions. |
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| Environmental and social issues - Category C |
This is an environmental and social Category C project, according to IFC’s procedure for Environmental and Social Review.
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| To contact the project company, please write to: |
Khawaja Aftab Ahmed
Senior Investment Officer
International Finance Corporation
Middle East and North Africa Department
Email: kaahmed@ifc.org |
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