NatWest UK, and it has a large network of over 960 branches and 3,400 cash machines across Great Britain and offers 24-hour "Actionline" telephone and online banking services. Today, it has more than 7.5 million personal customers and 850,000 small business accounts. In Ireland, it operates through its Ulster Bank subsidiary. In 2017, NatWest was awarded Best Banking App in the British Bank Awards. The bank's origins date back to 1658 with the foundation of Smith's Bank of Nottingham. The creation of the modern bank was announced in 1968, and National Westminster Bank Limited commenced trading on 1 January 1970, after
Saudi British Bank 2018, prompted by recent changes to Vision 2030 economic reforms, SABB announced its intention to acquire Alawwal Bank in the Saudi banking sector's first merger in twenty years. The British Bank of Iran and the Middle East, which became British Bank of the Middle East (BBME), opened branches in Jeddah and Al Khobar in 1950. The Jeddah branch in particular depended for its profits on the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) acquired BBME in 1959.<br> In 1976 the central bank enacted its sweeping policy of banking sector Saudization to address foreign banks'