Dubai’s Emirates NBD plans to open branches in Saudi Arabia. It intends to approach the banking regulator in the kingdom for the purpose and would apply for 20 additional branches. The bank received permission for three branches in Jeddah, Khobar and Riyadh in early 2017 and it plans to open them in the first quarter of 2018. Thereafter it will approach the regulator, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, for additional licenses. According to Shayne Nelson, who head the bank, said the bank will approach the regulator only after it had set up the allocated branches. Emirates NBD was the first non-Saudi bank that was allowed to increase its branch network in Saudi Arabia. The bank, which had only one branch in the capital Riyadh before securing permission for three more, has been representing to the regulator for a decade to expand in the country.
