Sunday, 19 July 2009 at 13:13, Bloomberg
Saudi Hollandi Bank, partly owned by ABN Amro Holding NV, said second-quarter profit fell 72 per cent as it tightened lending rules to reduce the risk of debt defaults as the kingdom’s economy contracts.
The shares dropped the most in three months.
Net income declined to 90.6 million riyals ($24m) from 326.3m riyals a year earlier, the Riyadh-based bank said in a statement posted on the Saudi stock exchange Web site today. Operating profit rose 0.8 percent to 552.5m riyals.
“The decline in net profit is mainly due to the conservative policy of the bank,” it said in the statement.
Saudi Hollandi fell as much as 4.8 per cent to 35.8 riyals, the biggest decline since April 21, and was at 36.3 riyals as of 11.54 am in Riyadh.
Saudi banks have been hurt by falling oil prices, which slowed growth in the biggest Arab economy and forced some of the kingdom’s biggest family owned companies to restructure debts. The International Monetary Fund forecast in May that the Saudi economy would shrink 0.9 per cent this year amid the worst global recession since World War II.
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