AMMAN (JT) - The board of Arab Bank on Tuesday agreed to appoint Nemeh Sabbagh as its executive general manager, starting January 17, 2010, after it had approved the creation of the post, upon a recommendation from the bank’s Chairman and CEO Abdul Hamid Shoman.

So far, Shoman has been serving as the bank’s chairman and CEO, but the creation of the post, as a separate job, will enable Shoman to become full-time board chairman.

Accordingly, Sabbagh will be entrusted with steering the everyday operations of Arab Bank, under the supervision and in full coordination with the bank’s chairman. A statement by the bank said the appointment and the creation of executive general manager post is in line with the bank’s development process of its business and performance. It is also in accordance with corporate governance requirements issued by the Central Bank of Jordan and accredited by the board.

Sabbagh has a vast experience in the banking sector as he has been working in this field since 1974 for First National Bank in Chicago. In 1976, he joined the Industrial Bank in Kuwait and later the Kuwait National Bank until 1998.

Then, he was chosen by the Arab Bank, as director general of the Saudi-based Arab National Bank where he worked from 1998 to 2005. In January 2006, he assumed the position of executive general manager of BankMed sal in Lebanon.

Sabbagh holds an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago and an MA in international economics from Johns Hopkins University. He completed his undergraduate studies in economics and French at Austin College in Texas and L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also completed the senior executive programme at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.