Lubna Al Olayan becomes first woman to be appointed as Saudi bank head

A Saudi businesswoman Lubna Al Olayan has been appointed to run a Saudi Arabian bank in a first for women in the country.

She will chair a new bank being formed out of a merger between the Saudi British Bank (SABB) and Alawwal Bank. The move comes amid a liberalisation of women's roles in a traditionally conservative society.

In June, Saudi women were officially allowed behind the wheel for the first time, after a driving ban was lifted. Currently the head of a family conglomerate, Ms Olayan is seen as a trailblazer for Saudi women in the finance industry.

The US-educated financier topped the list of Forbes Middle East's Most Influential Women 2018.

The empowerment of Saudi women is seen as key to the kingdom's modernisation as part of an initiative led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman known as Saudi Vision 2030.

The merger between the SABB and Alawwal Bank creates the country's third biggest bank, with a capitalisation of £13.2bn ($17.2bn). British multinational bank HSBC will own part of the new entity.

Born to Sulaiman Olayan and Maryam bint Jassim Al Abdulwahab, Olayan was listed as one of the top 100 most influential people of 2005 by Time magazine, and continued to be on the Forbes list of most powerful women till 2011 and returned to the list in 2014. In 2004, Olayan was the first woman in Saudi history to deliver an opening keynote address at a major conference in Saudi Arabia; at the Jeddah Economic Forum. As of 2014, she was listed as the 86th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Olayan is the chief executive officer of the Olayan Financing Company (OFC), the holding entity for the Olayan Group's operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East; she also sits on the board of the group along with her brother Khaled and sisters Hayat and Hutham. It is thought that the private family has accumulated a fortune that tops $10 billion. The group was founded in 1947 by her father, the late entrepreneur Sulaiman S. Olayan, The Olayan Group is a private multinational enterprise engaged in distribution, manufacturing, services and investments. OFC operates or actively participates in more than 40 companies, often in partnership with leading multinationals. OFC is also one of the largest investors in the Saudi and regional stock markets.