Samba faces possible downgrade

Moody's has placed Saudi American Bank's (Samba) C+ financial strength rating on review for possible downgrade.

This action does not affect the bank's Baa2/Prime-2 ratings for foreign currency deposits. According to Moody's, the review was triggered by the change in Samba's relationship with Citigroup, its 20 per cent shareholder and partner of long-standing.

Moody's notes that Samba is strongly rated, and although it believes the bank remains well positioned in the Saudi Arabian market, the benefits derived from its association with Citigroup have been key positive factors in its rating.

The rating review will focus on assessing the impact on Samba's franchise of the possible withdrawal of up to 20 key Citigroup-seconded staff, the severing of operational and technical support agreements with Citigroup, but also Samba's initiatives to manage this change. The Saudi American Bank is headquartered in Riyadh.