(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia is working on an ambitious plan to give the kingdom’s biggest bank a global footprint through major overseas acquisitions, people with knowledge of the matter said. 

The oil-rich country wants Saudi National Bank, the lender with a market value of $82 billion created through a merger more than a year ago, to boost its presence outside the kingdom, according to the people. The bank has been studying potential purchases of financial institutions in Europe and Asia, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. 

Saudi National Bank executives have been brainstorming about potential targets and aim to present the contours of a dealmaking strategy to the board in the next few months, the people said. The lender could make major acquisitions with backing from its largest shareholder, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, according to the people. 

Wall Street advisory firms, excited at the prospect of a deep-pocketed buyer hunting for cross-border deals, have already started pitching opportunities ranging from a takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG to a purchase of emerging markets-focused Standard Chartered Plc, the people said. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd. have also been mooted as possibilities, the people said. 

The government is encouraging the largest Saudi firms to expand their global footprint as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the economy. A strong banking sector able to finance new industries is seen as key to efforts to boost the dynamism of the private sector and accelerate growth. 

Saudi National Bank is still working out which areas of its operations it wants to bulk up, and it will only start analyzing potential targets in detail following the outcome of that review, the people said. It’s unclear if it will pursue some of the more ambitious acquisitions being suggested, or if it will ultimately opt to pursue smaller purchases or focus on organic growth. 

Any acquisition plans could be hindered by Saudi National Bank’s relative inexperience on the global stage, as well as potential regulatory hurdles. Representatives for Saudi National Bank and the country’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and Standard Chartered declined to comment, while a spokesperson for DBS couldn’t be reached for comment outside normal business hours in Singapore.

PIF was instrumental in orchestrating the deal that created Saudi National Bank through a combination of National Commercial Bank with rival Samba Financial Group. The integration of Samba and NCB is still underway, and Saudi National Bank may wait until after that process is complete before looking to do another deal.

PIF has been increasingly active overseas and plays a key role in supporting Vision 2030 projects.

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