Al-Rajhi Bank is a name people have come to trust. Unlike most other banks in the Kingdom offering Islamic services in some respects, Al-Rajhi is 100 percent Islamic in all its transactions, stocks and bonds and investment portfolios and leaves no room for doubt.

The bank prides itself on being the largest Islamic bank in the world and was established in the Kingdom in 1987, replacing Al-Rajhi Exchange and Trading Company, which was one of the oldest established banking institutions in the Arab world.

The bank is also Saudi Arabia’s largest joint stock company. For the third time in less than two years, the bank has submitted a proposal to increase its capital to SR13.5 billion from its previous SR6.75 billion.

No other bank covers the Kingdom like Al-Rajhi. With a network of 500 branches, the bank is present even in the smallest town or village. In addition to its branches, there are 1,600 Al-Rajhi ATMs throughout the country.

According to bank officials, Al-Rajhi has the largest market share among banks, constituting 35 percent of the entire market. The bank has also been a pioneer in social and humanitarian services. It is one of the founding members of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research. It also trains every year between 300 to 500 male and female college graduates in English, computer skills and administration skills in order to prepare them to join the private sector.

Over the past several years, the bank has received many awards from Riyadh Governor Prince Salman and Interior Minister Prince Naif for being the No. 1 bank in the Kingdom for hiring graduates from the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) and other technical colleges.

Arab News recently met Al-Rajhi Bank CEO Abdullah Suleiman Al-Rajhi to hear his perspective on the new domestic and international projects of the bank. According to him, Malaysia will be the major Asian country in which Al-Rajhi Bank intends to operate on an international level.

“By the end of this year, 15 branches will be operational in Malaysia,” he said, noting that at present, eight branches are already operating there.

These banks, he said, would be governed directly by Al-Rajhi. He also said that the branches and their operations in Malaysia would be evaluated, so that the decision-makers in the bank could then take the initiative to decide to open branches elsewhere.

The CEO said that whether in its domestic or international expansions, “Al-Rajhi will continue to operate on the Shariah basis” which is the backbone of the bank’s operations. Al-Rajhi recently won the award for being “The Best Islamic Bank in 2005” in a poll of readers conducted by Malaysia’s Islamic Finance News.

Al-Rajhi said that the bank’s policies would not be affected by the presence of foreign banks that are now in the Kingdom. “We will continue to do what we are doing now, opening new branches and seeking expansion,” he said.

Commenting on the 13 new services provided by the bank in order to attract more customers, he said the bank would continue to invest heavily in the Tahweel Al-Rajhi centers, adding that the bank was already a major player in the market despite the competition.

Thirty new Al-Rajhi centers for remittance transfers are expected to open by the end of this year in the Kingdom. The current system enables customers to transfer money to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and Syria. Al-Rajhi’s “Cash Click” service ensures delivery of funds to beneficiaries within a few seconds.

The CEO said the bank would continue to operate as a lead manager for many IPOs in the Kingdom and has already managed several IPOs that have been enlisted in the Tadawul Share Index.

As for the bank’s social roles, he said that last week, all women’s branches in the Kingdom participated in social visits to orphanages in their regions. The women’s branch managers also visited a number of local hospitals. “A special budget has been set up for this,” Al-Rajhi said.

He said the bank also funded a yearly program at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh in which 30 mothers were given a one-week course on how to deal with blind children and better prepare them to join society.

Al-Rajhi said the bank was continuing in its Saudization program. “Eighty percent of the staff workers in the bank are Saudi nationals,” he said, noting that the number continues to increase every year.