Saudi National Bank chair resigns after Credit Suisse comment

March 27 (UPI) -- The Saudi National Bank chairman who set off alarm bells over troubled Swiss lender Credit Suisse resigned from his position Monday.

The Saudi National Bank said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange that Chairman Ammar al-Khudairy has left his position for "personal reasons." SNB said Mohammed al-Ghamdi, the bank's managing director and group CEO will replace him.

The bank said Talal Ahmed al-Khereiji will step into al-Ghamdi's position as the group's CEO.

"And on this occasion, the board of directors would like to congratulate Mr. Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi on his appointment as chairman of the Board, with well-wishes for his success," said the SNB statement.

Earlier this month, al-Khudairy said the bank would not increase its investment into Credit Suisse for "regulatory and statutory" reasons. The comment to Bloomberg triggered investor panic and sent Credit Suisse shares down more than 20% during that session.

Since the comments, the Swiss bank stocks tumbled up to 60% before rival UBS last week stepped with a $3.2 billion rescue takeover.

Saudi National Bank is the largest commercial bank in Saudi Arabia, a coalition of between the National Commercial Bank and the Samba Financial Group.