JEDDAH: Abdullah Bahamdan, Chairman of the National Commercial Bank, has spoken of his gratitude to Prince Naif, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, after the bank was awarded the Prince Naif Prize for Saudization. Bahamdan, who was presented with the award by Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labor, described it as a “source of pride for the bank”, and representing an “extension of the generous care which our government and its various bodies, notably the Ministry of Interior, affords the Saudi workers' sector”. “Saudization is one of the main aims of the bank's strategy in order to form a strong bond with the development of its resources and widen its activities to improve its performance and profit levels and its contribution to the national economy,” Bahamdan said. NCB won first prize in the category of Saudization of the financial and banking sector. “Saudization is a national responsibility and a cornerstone for serving the public and returning the favor to the country which has offered much to workers' organizations and the banking sector particularly,” he said. “What the bank has achieved in terms of Saudization has not come about by chance or just to fill the needs of the bank, or because of measures taken over the last few years. It has come about because of the bank's considerable interest in Saudizing positions due to its complete awareness of the country's need to be run by its own people and of the changes in the job market and growth in demand for employment in the Kingdom.” NCB executive president Abdul Karim Abu Al-Nasr said the bank was one of the first to realize its role in the field and that it launched “very early on” its special Saudization programs. “The bank has a Saudization rate of over 88 percent,” he said. “That is a result of the great support from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency in improving national staff.”
