JEDDAH, 18 January 2004 — The Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) opened its exclusive Van Gogh Preferred Banking center in Jeddah last Monday. The move comes as Saudi Hollandi upgrades its existing branches around the Kingdom and revamps its products and services. Jeddah is the third Van Gogh centre — named after the 19th century Dutch artist — in the Kingdom, following the recent establishment of similar facilities in Alkhobar in September and Riyadh in December.
This exclusive form of private banking is, says Sulaiman Al-Suhaimi, chairman of the board of SHB, “designed to meet the needs of individual customers but offering a range of personalized services.”
Peter Baltussen, managing director of SHB said at the opening that the bank owed its strength to the loyalty and support of its customers. “Our objective now is to provide even better services and introduce new services in the Kingdom.” The bank has a long history in the Kingdom, first established here in 1926. Now it has 39 branches throughout the Kingdom and employs over 1,250 people. Now 60 percent Saudi owned — with 40 percent owned by Holland’s largest bank ABN Amro — it is set to introduce a new set of Islamic banking services under the umbrella name of Al Yosr.