Al Rajhi Bank eyeing growth in corporate lending, says CEO

Al Rajhi Bank is planning to raise its market share in the corporate lending segment from 7 percent currently, in light of various investment opportunities arising from Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification plan, CEO Steve Bertamini told Reuters on Thursday.

"In 2016, we gained market share [in corporate banking] for the first time in four years. We believe we can steadily increase our exposure in that sector and will give us a better balance within our overall portfolio,” Bertamini said.

Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia’s second largest bank by assets, is planning to capitalize on the kingdom’s National Transformation Plan (NTP) to become one of the top five corporate banks in the country by 2020.

The lender plans to focus more on the healthcare services, affordable housing, transportation and energy sectors, Bertamini noted. 

Meanwhile, the bank has no immediate plans to tap debt markets for its expansions until the end of 2020, thanks to its ample liquidity, low loan-to-deposit ratio, and one of the highest capital adequacy ratios worldwide, the chief executive said.

"We are very highly funded by current accounts, also very unusual by global standards, so that gives us a strong competitive advantage to fund our customers and our growth in the short-term,” he added.  

Al Rajhi reported a net profit of SAR 8.1 billion for the fiscal year 2016, a 14 percent rise year-on-year (YoY). The increase was mainly driven by higher net financing and investment income, fees from banking services, and other operating income, the bank said.