Saudi Arabian lenders National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank ended discussions for a potential combination that would have created a merged entity with roughly $200 billion in assets, Bloomberg News reported, citing regulatory filings.
The two lenders disagreed on valuation possibly due to a difference in their individual performances, an insider told Bloomberg. Regulatory concerns could also be among the reasons for the fallout since the merged entity would have taken a large market share, Bloomberg added, citing a note from Citigroup.
The banks confirmed that they were in talks in December 2018 as Saudi Arabia seeks consolidation in its banking sector to bolster the financial services industry.