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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

Saudi Arabia is targeting a 70% rate of home ownership by the end of the decade

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 […]

A street in Al Balad, Jeddah. 13,142 new residential mortgages were given by banks in Saudi Arabia in November

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 […]

The asset value of Saudi private investment funds has risen 7 percent and the number of investors has increased by more than half

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 […]

Workers on a construction site near Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is spending according to actual development requirements that are needed within its Vision 2030, said one expert

Why Saudi Arabia expects public debt to rise

Saudi Arabia expects its public debt to steadily rise in the next three years, despite the massive financial reserves controlled by the central bank and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Estimates by the Saudi Finance Ministry show that public debt will swell by around SAR375 billion ($100 billion) between the end of 2024 and the […]

W107M0 Female employee bookkeeper in hijab working in the office The central bank said there was a 7 percent year-on-year growth for personal loans, while business lending grew 16 percent

Saudi Central Bank says loans at 18-month high

Saudi Arabia’s bank loans reached their highest level in 18 months, according to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank (Sama).  Figures released for August show loans reached SAR2.82 trillion ($753 billion), a 12 percent increase from the previous year. The monthly bulletin said personal loans made up 46 percent of the market total, […]

Saudi grocery retailer BinDawood to invest $390m in delivery hubs

BinDawood to invest $390m in delivery hubs

Saudi grocery retailer BinDawood Holding has announced plans to invest SAR1.5 billion ($390 million) in robotics and delivery hubs. CEO Ahmad BinDawood confirmed that the investment, with partners, would be made in the company’s automated “dark stores” and the infrastructure needed to run them. The stores, typically hubs for online shopping orders, will range from […]

Saudi e-commerce woman shopping on laptop The growth in e-commerce is aligned with government efforts to attract venture capital and promote small businesses

Online retail sales in Saudi Arabia to double, report says

Ecommerce in Saudi Arabia’s retail sector is likely to double between 2020 and 2025, with annual compound growth of 15 percent a year, a government report has revealed.  “As the second-highest venture capital-funded sector in Saudi Arabia, ecommerce is booming,” the report by the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority said.  Venture capital funding in ecommerce […]

Visitors at the real estate exhibition Seredo 2024 held in Jeddah in May. Saudi Arabia is targeting 70% homeownership by 2030

Saudi Arabia woos US investors to bolster housing sector

As growth in mortgage lending in Saudi Arabia runs up against local liquidity constraints, several US investment giants are looking to step in. After a visit by Saudi officials to the US at the end of August, household names such as BlackRock and King Street Capital signed preliminary agreements with the Saudi Real Estate Refinance […]

Tabby IPO: it has 12 million customers across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait

Mubadala-backed Tabby prepares for Saudi IPO

Tabby, the buy-now-pay-later startup backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, is on track to prepare for its initial public offering, the company’s CEO confirmed on Wednesday. The fintech unicorn – a startup worth more than $1 billion – was originally founded in the UAE but is now headquartered in Saudi Arabia. It is […]