Saudi bank 'hit by US bias'

BBC News ^ | May 24 2002

[knighthawk]

One of the biggest banks in the Middle East is being hit by the US stance on terrorist funds, a report has said. Deposits at Saudi American Bank (Samba) fell by almost $600m (£410m) in the first three months of the year.

The fall could be in protest against the Bush administration's ban on US banks accepting transactions from some Islamic charities believed to have connections with terrorism, according to the Financial Times.

Samba is 22.8% owned by the US' Citibank, and is Saudi Arabia's second largest bank with 57 branches and 2,236 employees.

Boycott

Dwindling deposits is unusual at the bank which enjoyed steady gains during each quarter last year.

Some Saudi investors are thought to be moving their money to other banks as part of a wider boycott of US products in protest of its perceived bias towards Israel and against Arabs.

Samba chief executive, Mike de Graffenried, refused to comment on the reason for the decline, and some analysts acknowledged that there could be other reasons for the drop.

The revelation of falling deposits came as the bank announced a rise of 4% in quarterly profits to 549m Saudi riyals (£100.5m; $146.4m).

[knighthawk]

ADVERTISEMENT:

We at the Samba Saudi Bank listen to the wishes of our clients

Here one of our advisers is explaining a client how to invest his money in interesting activities.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[f.Christian]

Bojinka(loud crash)... saudis!

[facedown]

Samba is 22.8% owned by the US' Citibank,...

Now might be the time to sell, maybe at a loss, but at least be done with them.

[TheDon]

If you think it's bad now, wait until we overthrow the Saudi gov't!!

[jackbill]

Samba is 22.8% owned by the US' Citibank, and is Saudi Arabia's second largest bank

Hey, this is a twofer. You can screw that corrupt Robert Rubin and the Islamist Saudis with one fell swoop.

[swarthyguy]

It occurred to me that this boycott may well backfire on the Arabs. A key considerations with the Arab world is the economic factor; this boycott combined with oil to the west from Russia, could lessen the economic ties. As US companies face a dwindling presence in the arab market, the importance we give to their markets may well dwindle.

[bloggerjohn]

As US companies face a dwindling presence in the arab market, the importance we give to their markets may well dwindle.

=======

Wait a minnit - I'm heavily invested in camel halters (okay, I promise to be politically correct tomorrow ;')

[montag813]

Until the traitorist Saudi cabal in the State Department is removed en masse, this country will continued to be mortally threatened and the people will be shielded from the truth.

The Saudi-paid traitors in our government are as great a threat to this nation as Cold War Communists ever were.

All politicians should boycott the following Saudi-paid consultants and media advisors this election cycle:
Qovis Communications
Sandler-Innocenzi
Patton Boggs
Hill and Knowlton
Burson-Marsteller
Lobbyist Jamie Gallagher

[MissAmericanPie]

Help me out here, aren't the Saudi's big investors in AOL? Or AOL/Time/Warner?

[knighthawk]

Yes, they are.

Saudi prince swells AOL stake

He also has a share in Planet Hollywood.