* NCB picks four banks ahead of capital-boosting sukuk - leads
* Roadshows next week, pricing expected end-Feb - source
* Latest Saudi bank to boost capital after high lending growth
(Adds roadshow details, context)
DUBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's largest lender, National Commercial Bank
NCB had mandated its own investment banking arm, NCB Capital, as well as that of Gulf International Bank and the Saudi Arabian units of HSBC
Meetings with Saudi investors will take place next week, with pricing of the Islamic bond expected towards the end of February, a source with knowledge of the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not public.
The sukuk will enhance the bank's Tier 2 - or supplementary - capital and will have a 10-year lifespan with an option of the bank redeeming the instrument after five years.
The size of the issue has yet to be determined.
NCB is the latest Saudi bank to announce plans for a capital-boosting sukuk. Many banks have been selling such instruments to strengthen their reserves after a period of sustained lending growth.
Riyad Bank
NCB's chairman was quoted in October as saying the bank was planning to issue a capital-boosting sukuk worth up to 4 billion riyals.
The bank's capital adequacy ratio, an indicator of financial health, would drop to around 15 percent after the distribution of dividends for 2013, Mansour al-Maiman said at the time.
Saudi banks are generally well capitalised compared to their Western peers due to the regulator's conservative stance towards the health of the banking system.
($1 = 3.7505 Saudi riyals)
(Reporting by Azza El Arabi and David French; Editing by Dinesh Nair and Pravin Char)
((davidj.french@thomsonreuters.com)(+971 4 362 5864)(Reuters Messaging: davidj.french.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SAUDI NCB/SUKUK