Saudi National Bank Chairman resigns in wake of Credit Suisse loss; Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi to takeover

The chairman of Saudi National Bank (SNB) resigned days after he said in an interview that the bank was not open to further investments in Credit Suisse. According to the Saudi National Bank, Ammar Abdul Wahed Al Khudairy has resigned due to personal reasons. The bank added that Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi, the chief executive officer of the bank will take over his position.

The bank's board on Monday also approved the appointment of Talal Ahmed Al Khereji, Deputy CEO as the acting CEO.

Saudi National Bank will not invest in Credit Suisse

Ammar Al Khudairy on March 15 had said that the bank which is the top shareholder of Credit Sussie would not buy any more shares in Credit Suisse on regulator grounds. This statement triggered further sell-off in the Swiss bank's shares and created a crisis with lenders questioning the bank's stability.

The issue ended with the bank's rival UBS taking over and SNB taking a loss of over $1 billion in value.

Shares of Saudi National Bank

SNB in November last year bought the stakes for $1.46 billion. The bank's shares have fallen down over $26 billion in value since October last year when it said it would be making the investment. The shares on Monday went up by 2 per cent after the news was released.