ANB set to sell SAR 2 bln sukuk

Arab National Bank (ANB), Saudi Arabia's seventh-largest lender by assets, is close to completing a SAR 2 billion sukuk issue aimed at boosting its supplementary capital, Reuters reported citing informed sources.

Order books have closed for the ten-year issue and pricing has been set at 140 basis points over the six-month Saudi interbank offered rate (SIBOR).

The transaction was arranged by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan, and ANB’s investment banking arm ANB Invest.

In July, the bank obtained regulatory approval for the issue, which will be placed privately.

ANB has the lowest total capital adequacy ratio when compared to all other banks in the kingdom. The ratio is an important indicator of a bank's health, which is a mixture of Tier 1, or core capital and Tier 2 capital.

ANB is 40-percent owned by Jordan's Arab Bank.