SABB & Hafil Transport Est. signed Ijara lease contract

The project is the first of its kind in the Kingdom on the basis of the Islamic Ijara concept for leasing Hajj and Umrah buses.

The agreement was signed at the offices of Hafil Est. in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed Yousef Naghi, Mr. Geoff Calvert, Managing Director of The Saudi British Bank, and Mr. Waleed A. Kayyal, SABB's Western Region General Manager Financial Services.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Calvert, said: "The Bank takes the opportunity to highlight the efforts of the Ministry of Hajj for providing best services to the pilgrims which continue to develop every season. We wish to take part in the success of these efforts. We will save no efforts to contribute to any other achievements in this field as well as other fields related to Holy shrines in the near future".

Mr. Calvert added: "SABB is proud to be the first Bank in the Kingdom to provide this service to its corporate customers in the field of pilgrims and visitors transport. This will be added to our achievements, which evidence SABB capabilities in the Saudi banking sector and success in the management of the projects in which we take part. We aim to provide best services to our customers, maintain their satisfaction and achieve their desires".

The Saudi British Bank signed an agreement in March 2004 with Sejel Technology Co. to electronically handle payments of Umrah visas fees on global basis. This was done within the framework of the Ministry of Hajj efforts to facilitate Umrah procedures and enable pilgrims to electronically apply and pay for their Umrah packages through the authorized agents outside the Kingdom.

SABB is considered to be one of the Saudi banks committed to supporting projects and activities in different social, economical and development fields. The bank has to its credit a string of achievements in the recent past, such as the "Best Bank in the Kingdom for 2004" award by Euromoney International for the second year in a row. It was also given a high rating by the prestigious Standard and Poors Credit Rating Agency.