Company Insights Saudi Central Bank Banking & Finance Saudi Central Bank Overview The Saudi Central Bank, previously known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama), was established in1952. Despite a name change in 2020, it is still commonly referred to as Sama. Before its establishment, the Saudi Hollandi Bank served as a de facto central bank from 1926, managing the kingdom’s gold reserves and oil revenues. Sama’s headquarters were built in 1985. Today, the Saudi Central Bank operates with regulatory infrastructure from Irish firm Vizor. In 2020, Sama transferred 150 billion Saudi riyals (US$40 billion) to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Sama’s functions include issuing the national currency, supervising commercial banks, managing foreign exchange reserves, promoting price and exchange rate stability and ensuring the financial system’s growth and soundness. It also operates various cross-bank electronic financial systems. Saudi Central Bank News Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi banks have room to expand lending The loan books of Saudi Arabian banks now exceed their total deposits, which might normally be a warning sign that the sector’s finances are under strain. Yet the Saudi Central Bank (Sama) takes a more nuanced approach to calculating loan-to-deposit ratios, an important metric known in the industry as LDR. Sama’s assessment indicates that lenders […] March 20, 2025 Telecoms STC to pay special 2024 dividend as profit grows Saudi Telecom Company (STC), which trades on the Saudi stock exchange, has recommended a special dividend payout of nearly SAR10 billion ($2.7 billion) for 2024. That is over and above its fourth-quarter 2024 dividend of almost SAR3 billion. The special dividend announcement follows a near doubling in STC’s 2024 net profit to SAR25 billion. Revenue rose […] February 26, 2025 Banking & Finance CEO of $320bn Saudi pension fund to step down The CEO of Hassana Investment Company, which manages Saudi Arabia’s $320 billion social security and pension fund, will step down later this year. Saad Al Fadly will leave Hassana, the investment manager for General Organization for Social Insurance (Gosi), on July 1, the company said in a statement. He will remain a board member. Al […] February 19, 2025 Analysis Mining Canada’s Barrick seeks to tap $2trn of Saudi minerals A year ago Saudi Arabia almost doubled the estimated value of its mineral resources, from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, primarily on higher prices for strategic minerals. Now the country has the fastest-growing mining sector in the world, mining minister Bandar Alkhorayef said, speaking at an investment conference in Riyadh last month. Production rates are […] February 6, 2025 Banking & Finance Saudi commercial banks hit record profits in 2024 Profits at Saudi Arabia’s commercial banks rose to a record SAR89.97 billion ($24 billion) in 2024, an increase of 15 percent year on year. Aggregate profits in December also hit an all-time monthly high of SAR8.82 billion, according to data released by the Saudi Central Bank (Sama) on Thursday. The increase in profits comes at […] January 31, 2025 Banking & Finance STC digital banking given go-ahead to open in Saudi Arabia STC Bank, a digital lender launched by Saudi Arabia’s biggest telecoms company, will commence operations in Saudi Arabia after receiving authorisation from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). In an announcement published on the Saudi Exchange on Wednesday morning, STC Group (Saudi Telecoms Company) said that STC Bank’s launch “represents a significant milestone in the kingdom’s […] January 29, 2025 Banking & Finance Saudi bank profits to ride out home liquidity squeeze Saudi banks are “poised for stable profitability” in 2025 despite their continued dependence on international capital markets, say analysts. External debt is likely to build up in the coming years because of high borrowing demand in the kingdom, which the ratings agency S&P Global expects to increase by 10 percent this year, driven by corporate […] January 22, 2025 Real Estate Saudi Arabia embraces mortgage-backed securities Saudi officials have signed a preliminary deal this week to issue residential mortgage-backed securities, a first for the Gulf. The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Hassana Investment Company, which manages the assets of the national social security and pension fund, signed the memorandum […] January 3, 2025 Real Estate Saudi mortgage issuance reached two-year high in November The number of residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia reached its highest level since August 2022 in November, according to the latest figures from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama). A total of 13,142 new residential mortgages were given by banks to individuals during the month with the value up by 51 percent year on year […] December 30, 2024 Banking & Finance Subscribers to Saudi private investment funds rise by half The number of subscribers to private investment funds in Saudi Arabia has increased by more than half in the last year, official figures showed. Around 131,000 subscribers were recorded in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Argaam platform, citing data from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). This is an increase of 55 percent […] December 23, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 8 Next
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi banks have room to expand lending The loan books of Saudi Arabian banks now exceed their total deposits, which might normally be a warning sign that the sector’s finances are under strain. Yet the Saudi Central Bank (Sama) takes a more nuanced approach to calculating loan-to-deposit ratios, an important metric known in the industry as LDR. Sama’s assessment indicates that lenders […] March 20, 2025
Telecoms STC to pay special 2024 dividend as profit grows Saudi Telecom Company (STC), which trades on the Saudi stock exchange, has recommended a special dividend payout of nearly SAR10 billion ($2.7 billion) for 2024. That is over and above its fourth-quarter 2024 dividend of almost SAR3 billion. The special dividend announcement follows a near doubling in STC’s 2024 net profit to SAR25 billion. Revenue rose […] February 26, 2025
Banking & Finance CEO of $320bn Saudi pension fund to step down The CEO of Hassana Investment Company, which manages Saudi Arabia’s $320 billion social security and pension fund, will step down later this year. Saad Al Fadly will leave Hassana, the investment manager for General Organization for Social Insurance (Gosi), on July 1, the company said in a statement. He will remain a board member. Al […] February 19, 2025
Analysis Mining Canada’s Barrick seeks to tap $2trn of Saudi minerals A year ago Saudi Arabia almost doubled the estimated value of its mineral resources, from $1.3 trillion to $2.5 trillion, primarily on higher prices for strategic minerals. Now the country has the fastest-growing mining sector in the world, mining minister Bandar Alkhorayef said, speaking at an investment conference in Riyadh last month. Production rates are […] February 6, 2025
Banking & Finance Saudi commercial banks hit record profits in 2024 Profits at Saudi Arabia’s commercial banks rose to a record SAR89.97 billion ($24 billion) in 2024, an increase of 15 percent year on year. Aggregate profits in December also hit an all-time monthly high of SAR8.82 billion, according to data released by the Saudi Central Bank (Sama) on Thursday. The increase in profits comes at […] January 31, 2025
Banking & Finance STC digital banking given go-ahead to open in Saudi Arabia STC Bank, a digital lender launched by Saudi Arabia’s biggest telecoms company, will commence operations in Saudi Arabia after receiving authorisation from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). In an announcement published on the Saudi Exchange on Wednesday morning, STC Group (Saudi Telecoms Company) said that STC Bank’s launch “represents a significant milestone in the kingdom’s […] January 29, 2025
Banking & Finance Saudi bank profits to ride out home liquidity squeeze Saudi banks are “poised for stable profitability” in 2025 despite their continued dependence on international capital markets, say analysts. External debt is likely to build up in the coming years because of high borrowing demand in the kingdom, which the ratings agency S&P Global expects to increase by 10 percent this year, driven by corporate […] January 22, 2025
Real Estate Saudi Arabia embraces mortgage-backed securities Saudi officials have signed a preliminary deal this week to issue residential mortgage-backed securities, a first for the Gulf. The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Hassana Investment Company, which manages the assets of the national social security and pension fund, signed the memorandum […] January 3, 2025
Real Estate Saudi mortgage issuance reached two-year high in November The number of residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia reached its highest level since August 2022 in November, according to the latest figures from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama). A total of 13,142 new residential mortgages were given by banks to individuals during the month with the value up by 51 percent year on year […] December 30, 2024
Banking & Finance Subscribers to Saudi private investment funds rise by half The number of subscribers to private investment funds in Saudi Arabia has increased by more than half in the last year, official figures showed. Around 131,000 subscribers were recorded in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Argaam platform, citing data from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). This is an increase of 55 percent […] December 23, 2024
