Al Eisa: the Resolution Aligns with Samba's Strategic Vision for Regional and International Expansion

QFCRA: Samba can make a very Positive Contribution to the Development of Qatar's Financial Services Sector

Mr. Eisa Mohammad Al Eisa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Samba Financial Group (Samba), announced that Samba is preparing to launch its new presence in the GCC, mainly in Doha, the Capital of the State of Qatar, after obtaining a license from Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) to conduct regulated banking and financial activities in the Qatar Financial Centre. Al Eisa extended his gratitude and deep thanks to the Qatari concerned authorities for their confidence in Samba and giving it the opportunity to provide its banking and financial services in this very important and attractive regional market, and participating actively in developing the investment and financial environment in Qatar.

Al Eisa emphasized that this new license to provide services in Qatar will ameliorate Samba Financial Group's potentials to implement its regional and international expansion strategy and boost the Group's ability to maintain its regional premier position, especially as it coincides with opening of Samba's branch in Dubai, where it obtained its first GCC License. "These steps reflect confidence in Saudi Banking and Financial institutions and their competitive edge that was embodied in the stream if accolades and high ratings granted by international rating agencies, especially to Samba" said Al Eisa.

Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) has announced earlier that it has granted a license to Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group to conduct regulated activities in the Qatar Financial Centre. "QFCRA's CEO & Chairman, Phillip Thorpe, said "Our aim is to provide a regulatory environment that is attractive to international, regional and domestic institutions and which will fend to Qatari businesses and investors benefiting from having access to a wide range of markets, and financial products and services", highlighting that the Centre has now 81 financial institutions licensed under the QFC umbrella.

"With the strong performance of the Qatar economy and ever-growing demand for financial services, we are confident that this growth trend will continue", he said. "Firms such as Samba, one of the region's largest financial services institutions, can make a very positive contribution to the development of Qatar's financial services sector", he added. 

Samba is a leading financial and banking group in Saudi Arabia and the region, providing a full range of world-class services to meet the financial needs of its private, corporate and institutional customers. The prominence of Samba is reflected in its results as well as the high ranking by the international rating agencies, which gave it more accolades than any other bank in the Kingdom, especially in the past few years, during which Samba has crystallized its expansion strategy by acquiring a majority shareholding in Crescent Commercial Bank in Pakistan and obtaining a license to open a branch in Dubai in addition to its UK Branch. Samba proceeds with its prudent efforts to implement its expansion strategy through acquiring regional banking institutions.