JEDDAH, 5 April 2005 — The Board of Directors of Saudi Hollandi Bank (SHB) has appointed Giel-Jan van der Tol as managing director from May 1. He is currently chief operating officer of SHB.
Giel-Jan van der Tol will succeed Peter Baltussen, who has been appointed president of the French private banking organization of ABN Amro as from May 1. Baltussen will head the wealth management and asset management activities in France conducted through Banque de Neuflize and Banque OBC, both wholly owned by the Dutch ABN Amro group.
During his three years as managing director, Baltussen has successfully led SHB through a process of strategic change, expanding the bank’s prominent position as a provider of financial services for (affluent) individuals and mid-sized and large corporates.
SHB was the first bank to unveil the new “smart” credit card with built-in computer chip in Saudi Arabia in 2003. The bank also introduced a new range of competitive Islamic consumer lending products that year. In September 2003 SHB launched its “Van Gogh Preferred Banking” branch concept and services for affluent individuals, which recently was voted by clients as one of the two best preferred banking offerings in Saudi Arabia.
SHB has also introduced a wide range of new mutual funds in Saudi Arabia, of which 11 funds featured in the top 3 in various categories of best-performing funds during 2004. SHB also had the overall best performing mutual fund in the Saudi Arabian market last year: The Saudi Banks Index Fund which achieved a return of 96.2 percent over 2004. The bank has successfully closed a number of innovative high-profile capital markets transactions in 2004 and was Mandated Lead Arranger for several project finance and syndicated loan transactions totaling more than $2.2 billion.
At the end of 2004 SHB successfully issued SR700 million in subordinated debt to bolster its capital base. SHB posted a record net profit of SR742.7 million ($198 million) for 2004.
Giel-Jan van der Tol, 43, has a Masters degree in International Management from the United States.
During his 18-year banking career with ABN Amro, he has held various senior management positions including deputy country manager of ABN Amro Lebanon and, since August 2002, COO of SHB.
SHB, the oldest bank in the Kingdom, was founded in 1926 and is one of the leading banks in Saudi Arabia. The Dutch bank ABN Amro owns 40 percent of the stock with the remainder being held by Saudi investors. As of Jan. 1, 2005, the bank had SR33.4 billion ($8.9 billion) in assets and more than 1,300 employees, of whom 81 percent Saudis. SHB operates 40 branches and 140 ATMs throughout the Kingdom and is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange.