DUBAI: National Commercial Bank , Saudi Arabia's biggest lender, has hired a group of banks to arrange investor calls ahead of a Tier 1 US dollar-denominated sukuk offering, the bank said in a stock exchange filing on Sunday.

NCB, majority owned directly and indirectly by the Saudi government, hired Citi, Emirates NBD Capital, Goldman Sachs International, JPMorgan, MUFG , NCB Capital and Standard Chartered to arrange the calls starting on Monday.

A benchmark issuance of Tier 1 sukuk, or Islamic bonds, will follow subject to market conditions, according to a document from one of the banks on the deal.

The deal follows debt sales from Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank, the biggest banks in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates respectively.

After a lull around the US election and winter holidays, Gulf issuers are returning to the market in what could be another record year of issuance.

The Gulf saw a second consecutive year of record international bonds last year, topping $100 billion.