UPDATE 1-Saudi Hollandi says Q4 loss not linked to subprime

(Updates with quote, background)

By Souhail Karam

RIYADH, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Hollandi Bank 1040.SE missed fourth quarter forecasts with a net loss that it said was due to higher provisioning for bad debt. The bank had not taken a hit from subprime mortgage debt, a spokesman said.

Saudi Hollandi, in which ABN Amro AAH.AS owns a 40 percent stake, made a net loss of 106.3 million riyals ($28.3 million) in the fourth quarter, the bank said in a statement on the stock exchange Web site.

Hollandi had suffered "credit losses" and a decline in banking fees, it said, without giving details.

"(The credit losses) have nothing to do with the subprime crisis. We had to make provisions for bad loans," spokesman Farid Zouq said. He also declined to give details.

Saudi companies usually publish detailed financial statements more than a week after they announce the headline figures.

"Theoretically it's normal for banks to make provisions for bad debts but it's virtually unheard of in Saudi Arabia because banks here follow very stringent lending policies," said Ibrahim al-Alwan, deputy chief executive for KSB Capital.

Analysts forecast Hollandi would make a fourth quarter profit of between 185 million riyals and 244 million riyals, according to a Reuters survey last month.