Al Rajhi Bank eyes corporate lending growth, says CEO

Al Rajhi Bank is planning to expand its corporate lending portfolio on optimism that companies will start borrowing later this year, the bank’s chief executive, Steve Bertamini, told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Al Rajhi is likely to outperform peers this year on rising demand for corporate and housing loans.

“Our goal is to outperform the industry. Housing demand gives us confidence that we’ll be able to continue to do that, and if corporate demand begins to improve, especially if the government begins to fund some projects, we think that will be positive for the banks and also for us,” Bertamini said.

For its dispute with the General Authority for Zakat and Tax, the bank is required to pay SAR 723 million in zakat claims for the period of 2002-2009, while the assessment is pending from 2010 onwards.

“There is a committee that has been established to resolve this issue and we hope to see it get resolved soon,” Bertamini added.