Banks waive Rs153.5bn loans in eight years

LAHORE: Businessmen, political leaders, retired army men, and journalists are among over 3,300 people who got Rs153.5 billion loans written off from 11 financial institutions between 1999 and 2007.
 
The list of loan write-off beneficiaries, prepared by the federal government, is likely to be presented in the National Assembly soon.

NBP to open S Arabia branch early next year

Sunday, December 06, 2009
By Mansoor Ahmad

LAHORE: National Bank of Pakistan is among five leading global banks which have been granted permission to open a branch in Saudi Arabia which has kept a ban on entry of foreign banks for the last 25 years.

“We will be opening our branch in Saudi Arabia in early 2010,” said NBP President Syed Ali Raza in an interview with The News.

Saudi banks ‘not in danger over Dubai debt’

Saturday, December 05, 2009
DUBAI: The head of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency said on Friday that the kingdom’s banking sector is not in danger over the Dubai World debt crisis.

“There is no danger to the banking system in the kingdom from the debt of the Dubai World group,” Mohammad al-Jasser told Al-Arabiya news channel, a day before the Saudi stock market opens after a long holiday marred by Dubai’s debt alert which sent jitters throughout global and Gulf markets.