RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — When Citigroup shut down operations in Saudi Arabia after 11 September 2001, government officials here felt betrayed. For years after, the Saudis snubbed Citi as executives realised they had made a mistake and tried to rebuild their business.

Two decades later, the third-biggest US bank has again found favour in the kingdom as one of the foreign lenders helping Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman modernise its oil-heavy economy.