Yemen Monitor/Aden/Private
Al Rajhi Bank, the second-largest bank in Saudi Arabia, announced on Saturday that it would cease dealing with the six banks suspended by the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden.
A source at the Central Bank of Yemen confirmed that “Al Rajhi Bank has stopped dealing with the suspended Yemeni banks, namely: Al-Krimi bank, Yemen International bank, Yemen and Kuwait bank, Al-Tadhamon bank, Yemen and Bahrain Comprehensive bank, and Al-Amal bank.”
The source explained that “Al Rajhi Bank has asked its agents in Yemen to bring a certificate of no objection from the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden.”
It’s worth mentioning that Al Rajhi Bank is one of the largest banks in terms of its financing portfolio in Saudi Arabia, and the second largest bank in the Kingdom in terms of assets, as it owns 21% of the total assets and 25% of the total deposits of all banks in the Kingdom as of December 31, 2022. The total assets of Al Rajhi Group amounted to 762 billion Saudi riyals as of December 31, 2022.
This is the second announcement after the international money transfer company “MoneyGram” announced on Friday evening that it would comply with the foreign transfer decision issued by the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden, as the company required its agents in Yemen to obtain a license and a no-objection letter from the Central Bank of Aden.
According to the announcement by the company, which is headquartered in the US in Dallas, “no external remittance can be received in Sana’a through MoneyGram unless the agent in Sana’a is licensed and subject to the supervision of the Central Bank of Aden.”
The Central Bank of Yemen in Aden had issued a decision to stop dealing with six major banks in Houthi-controlled areas, while calling on citizens, companies, shops, banks and financial institutions to deposit old banknotes issued before 2016 in the Central Bank or commercial and Islamic banks in the liberated provinces, within a maximum period of sixty days from the date of the announcement.
In response, the Houthi group issued a decision to stop dealing with 13 banks in the areas of the legitimate government, which are newly established banks and do not have branches in the Houthi areas, and the group’s decision does not have any impact on the mutual economic conflict between the Central Bank of Aden and the Houthis, according to banking sources.
