Riyadh – Mubasher: The governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) said he does not expect any new mergers among banks in the coming period, apart from those previously announced.

The kingdom does not forecast a contraction in its banking sector due to the strong demand for loans, especially from individual investors and from real estate sector, Ahmed Alkholifey told Reuters.

In December, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) started initial discussions with Riyad Bank over a possible merger that would create an entity with an asset base of $182 billion.

In October last year, the Saudi British Bank (SABB) and Alawwal inked a binding merger contract. In January, Alawwal’s managing director Soren Nikolajsen told Arabian Business that the two banks’ consolidation was likely to be completed in the first half of 2019.