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.In 1976 the central bank enacted its sweeping policy of banking sector Saudization to address foreign banks' domination of the sector and its impact on the Saudi economy. Consequently, it directed all foreign bank branches to incorporate in Saudi Arabia (i.e., become Saudi companies with Saudi capital) and limited their parent companies to ownership of forty percent of these new entities.