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| Saudi National Bank Chairman Resigns After Controversial Comment on Credit Suisse, CEO Named as Replacement |
The chairman of Saudi National Bank, Ammar Al Khudairy, has resigned from his position just days after his comments caused Credit Suisse Group AG's shares to plummet. Al Khudairy, who became chairman of Saudi National Bank in 2021, is leaving "due to personal reasons" and will be replaced by CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi. His resignation comes after he said that Saudi National Bank would not be open to further investments in Credit Suisse if there was another call for additional liquidity.
Following Al Khudairy's comments, Credit Suisse's stock dropped to a record low, and its credit spreads surged. This, in turn, led to European banks' shares falling, as investors shied away from risk after three US lenders collapsed. Days later, UBS Group AG agreed to buy Credit Suisse in a government-brokered deal that aimed to contain a crisis of confidence that was starting to spread across global financial markets.
Saudi National Bank, which is 37% owned by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, saw the value of its investment in Credit Suisse drop by around $1 billion in a matter of months after it acquired a roughly 9.9% stake for 1.4 billion francs last year. Al Khudairy had spent his career in Saudi Arabia's financial sector, running some of the kingdom's top institutions and serving as chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley in Saudi Arabia.
In related news, Saudi National Bank has appointed Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji as its acting CEO. He was previously the deputy CEO and head of wholesale banking at the Saudi lender.
