RIYADH, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia's biggest lender National Commercial Bank said on Sunday that it will purchase rival lender Samba in a deal valued at about 15 billion U.S. dollars.
The merger comes as Saudi Arabia is grappling with the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and low crude oil prices against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown.
"The National Commercial Bank and Samba financial group today announced that they have entered into a binding agreement to merge," the two banks said in a joint statement.
"If approved by shareholders and regulators, the merger will bring together two highly complementary banks to create Saudi Arabia's largest bank," said the statement.
The combined entity will have more than 223 billion dollars in assets, it added.
According to the statement, the new bank will support Saudi Arabia's "landmark deals and mega projects" to diversify the kingdom's economy. Enditem
