The Saudi National Bank (SNB) has appointed Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi as its new chairman, replacing Ammar Al Khudairy, who resigned for personal reasons. The move comes in the aftermath of the Credit Suisse investment crisis, in which SNB suffered losses on its investment, which had dropped by over $1bn in value by mid-March.

Al Khudairy, who had triggered a further sell-off in Credit Suisse shares by saying the Saudi bank would not buy more shares in the Swiss financial institution on regulatory grounds, stepped down from his position as chairman days after his comments. Al Khudairy’s resignation from SNB is not expected to impact Credit Suisse or the overall banking industry, SNB said.

SNB acquired almost 9.9% of Credit Suisse for $1.46bn in November and committed to investing up to $1.63bn, but the bank has lost more than $26bn in market value since 27 October 2022.

Al Ghamdi, the new chairman of SNB, has stepped down as the CEO and Managing Director of the group, with Deputy CEO Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji appointed as the acting CEO.

SNB has said that the drop in its investment value in Credit Suisse would not affect its growth plans and profitability. However, Credit Suisse saw clients withdraw more than $110bn in the last three months of 2022 and lost a fifth of its value after Al Khudairy’s comments. This triggered a bank confidence crisis, eventually forcing it into a takeover by its domestic rival, UBS, for $3.2bn.

SNB has played a critical role in the consolidation of the financial entities in Saudi Arabia, following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 push to diversify the kingdom’s revenues and economic growth prospects away from hydrocarbon earnings.

SNB is the largest commercial bank in Saudi Arabia, formed due to a merger between the National Commercial Bank and the Samba Financial Group in 2021. SNB has assured its investors that it is focused on its Saudi business and is not looking at international acquisitions.