Company Insights Saudi Central Bank Banking & Finance Saudi Central Bank News Real Estate Saudi mortgage issuances fall as stock shortage bites Saudi mortgage issuance fell by 35.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, as the kingdom grapples with rising interest rates and a delay in new stock. Residential mortgage contracts issued by Saudi banks fell to 30,213 in the first three months of 2023, according to research from real estate consultancy firm […] June 28, 2023 Banking & Finance Saudi banks need more funding to finance Vision 2030 The Saudi banking system cannot provide enough funding alone to finance the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 and will require a combination of developing the local capital market and tapping international markets, S&P said on Wednesday. While the banking sector has seen rapid growth over the past few years, primarily driven by mortgages, deposit growth has […] May 31, 2023 Economy Fed may pause rate hikes after latest increase The US Federal Reserve has hinted that it may be time to pause interest rate hikes after announcing its tenth consecutive increase since March 2022. As widely expected the Fed has raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps), with the majority of Gulf central banks, whose currencies are pegged to the US […] May 4, 2023 Banking & Finance Visa makes first Mena open banking investment Payments giant Visa has made its first investment into open banking in the Middle East and North Africa as the region seeks to develop its fintech sector. Open banking allows customers to share their financial data securely with a third-party provider to take advantage of new services and products. Tarabut Gateway, an open banking platform, […] May 3, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi banks face liquidity pressures as economy grows The Saudi central bank may step in to provide funding to local banks for the second time in a year to ease liquidity pressures and keep the economy growing, analysts have said. Last June central bank Sama placed about SR50 billion ($13 billion) as time deposits with commercial lenders in a bid to ease the […] April 25, 2023 Banking & Finance Saudi public-private partnerships worth billions Public-private partnerships in Saudi Arabia are driving the kingdom’s economic growth and diversification plans. A pipeline of 200 projects spanning 17 sectors, involving more than $50 billion in investment, have been approved by Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and PPP (NCP). Projects include four airports, seven desalination plants, six wastewater treatment plants, 10 strategic […] April 14, 2023 Analysis GCC economies to weather latest Fed rate hike Gulf economies will be able to absorb the latest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve, but the ripple effect from the rise will still have repercussions throughout the region, according to economists. Despite uncertainty across the banking sector, the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, less than […] March 23, 2023 Tamara secures $150m from Goldman Sachs to propel growth Saudi-based buy-now, pay-later startup Tamara has signed a $150 million funding facility with investment bank Goldman Sachs to fund its growth plan. The loan, known as a ‘receivables warehouse facility’, will take the startup’s total funding in equity and debt to $366 million since its launch in September 2020. The funding will accelerate demand for […] March 17, 2023 Banking & Finance Saudi National Bank has liquidity to withstand Credit Suisse shock Saudi National Bank has enough liquidity to withstand any losses arising from the troubled Credit Suisse, according to a leading economist. SNB, the kingdom’s biggest lender, took a stake of almost 10 percent in Credit Suisse last year after it participated in the bank’s $4.3 billion capital raise. It became its largest shareholder, with a […] March 17, 2023 Tech Aramco venture capital arm boosts tech startup funding by $300m Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco, has announced a $300 million increase in funding aimed at boosting the growth of tech startups in the country. The size of the fund grows to $500 million and will be directed towards local investments in mid and growth-stage startups, especially underserved areas […] February 8, 2023 Posts navigation Previous 1 … 5 6 7 8 Next
Real Estate Saudi mortgage issuances fall as stock shortage bites Saudi mortgage issuance fell by 35.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, as the kingdom grapples with rising interest rates and a delay in new stock. Residential mortgage contracts issued by Saudi banks fell to 30,213 in the first three months of 2023, according to research from real estate consultancy firm […] June 28, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi banks need more funding to finance Vision 2030 The Saudi banking system cannot provide enough funding alone to finance the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 and will require a combination of developing the local capital market and tapping international markets, S&P said on Wednesday. While the banking sector has seen rapid growth over the past few years, primarily driven by mortgages, deposit growth has […] May 31, 2023
Economy Fed may pause rate hikes after latest increase The US Federal Reserve has hinted that it may be time to pause interest rate hikes after announcing its tenth consecutive increase since March 2022. As widely expected the Fed has raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points (bps), with the majority of Gulf central banks, whose currencies are pegged to the US […] May 4, 2023
Banking & Finance Visa makes first Mena open banking investment Payments giant Visa has made its first investment into open banking in the Middle East and North Africa as the region seeks to develop its fintech sector. Open banking allows customers to share their financial data securely with a third-party provider to take advantage of new services and products. Tarabut Gateway, an open banking platform, […] May 3, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi banks face liquidity pressures as economy grows The Saudi central bank may step in to provide funding to local banks for the second time in a year to ease liquidity pressures and keep the economy growing, analysts have said. Last June central bank Sama placed about SR50 billion ($13 billion) as time deposits with commercial lenders in a bid to ease the […] April 25, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi public-private partnerships worth billions Public-private partnerships in Saudi Arabia are driving the kingdom’s economic growth and diversification plans. A pipeline of 200 projects spanning 17 sectors, involving more than $50 billion in investment, have been approved by Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Privatization and PPP (NCP). Projects include four airports, seven desalination plants, six wastewater treatment plants, 10 strategic […] April 14, 2023
Analysis GCC economies to weather latest Fed rate hike Gulf economies will be able to absorb the latest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve, but the ripple effect from the rise will still have repercussions throughout the region, according to economists. Despite uncertainty across the banking sector, the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, less than […] March 23, 2023
Tamara secures $150m from Goldman Sachs to propel growth Saudi-based buy-now, pay-later startup Tamara has signed a $150 million funding facility with investment bank Goldman Sachs to fund its growth plan. The loan, known as a ‘receivables warehouse facility’, will take the startup’s total funding in equity and debt to $366 million since its launch in September 2020. The funding will accelerate demand for […] March 17, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi National Bank has liquidity to withstand Credit Suisse shock Saudi National Bank has enough liquidity to withstand any losses arising from the troubled Credit Suisse, according to a leading economist. SNB, the kingdom’s biggest lender, took a stake of almost 10 percent in Credit Suisse last year after it participated in the bank’s $4.3 billion capital raise. It became its largest shareholder, with a […] March 17, 2023
Tech Aramco venture capital arm boosts tech startup funding by $300m Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco, has announced a $300 million increase in funding aimed at boosting the growth of tech startups in the country. The size of the fund grows to $500 million and will be directed towards local investments in mid and growth-stage startups, especially underserved areas […] February 8, 2023
