Company Insights Saudi Central Bank Banking and Finance Saudi Central Bank News Banking and 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 Banking and Finance Saudi Central Bank grants first licence to a foreign insurer US healthcare giant Cigna is to become the first international insurer operating in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom seeks to increase foreign direct investment. Cigna has been granted a health insurer licence by the Saudi Central Bank (Sama), it revealed on Monday. Jason Sadler, president of international markets at Cigna, described the branch licence as […] February 7, 2023 Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia sees cashless payments up 25% in January Saudi Arabia saw the number of digital point-of-sale (Pos) transactions increase by nearly a quarter year-on-year during January, as the kingdom’s drive towards becoming a cashless economy takes hold. Figures from the Saudi Central Bank showed there were 598,861 transactions last month for both ATM cash withdrawals and credit card transactions at retail outlets and […] February 3, 2023 Analysis Banking and Finance Saudi takes fintech to ‘new level’ with Open Banking Lab The launch of a new Open Banking Lab in Saudi Arabia is set to take the fintech sector to a “new level” in the kingdom, according to industry experts. Saudi Central Bank, also known as Sama, is tracking the readiness of banks and fintechs with a view to launch open banking services by the end […] January 10, 2023 Banking and Finance Saudi central bank governor says monetary conditions ‘reassuring’ Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said that the country’s monetary conditions are “reassuring” due to prudent monetary policy and that its banking sector enjoyed good liquidity. In a statement, Governor Fahad Almubarak said that the Saudi Central Bank would continue to manage foreign exchange reserves based on “balanced investment policies”. He noted that despite the […] December 8, 2022 Exclusive Banking and Finance Crypto giant Binance eyes UAE acquisitions and Saudi expansion Crypto exchange Binance is in talks with financial regulators in Saudi Arabia to expand into the kingdom. The company is also eyeing web3 tech investments in the UAE, and has appointed a fund manager based in Abu Dhabi. Binance, which is the world’s biggest crypto exchange, saw a 49 percent year-to-date increase in its Mena […] November 14, 2022 Analysis Economy Gulf rate hike: Good for gold and bonds, bad for credit Gulf companies have been able to absorb rising interest rates but as regional central banks follow the US Federal Reserve’s latest hike, borrowing appetite is likely to be subdued. It may, however, be good for gold, bank deposits and fixed income. Four of the Gulf states announced on Wednesday that they would increase their key […] November 3, 2022 Opinion Banking and Finance Islamic insurers face a turbulent year While growth prospects of Islamic insurers in the GCC remain favourable, weak profitability has been an issue for the sector November 2, 2022 Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia reports 195% rise in crypto trading The Middle East and North Africa region saw $566 billion in cryptocurrency trading between July 2021 and June 2022, a year-on-year increase of 48 percent, making it the fastest growing region in the world. The 2022 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, by New York-based blockchain data platform Chainalysis, found that Saudi Arabia was one of the […] October 6, 2022 Posts navigation Previous 1 … 6 7 8 9 Next
Banking and 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
Banking and Finance Saudi Central Bank grants first licence to a foreign insurer US healthcare giant Cigna is to become the first international insurer operating in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom seeks to increase foreign direct investment. Cigna has been granted a health insurer licence by the Saudi Central Bank (Sama), it revealed on Monday. Jason Sadler, president of international markets at Cigna, described the branch licence as […] February 7, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia sees cashless payments up 25% in January Saudi Arabia saw the number of digital point-of-sale (Pos) transactions increase by nearly a quarter year-on-year during January, as the kingdom’s drive towards becoming a cashless economy takes hold. Figures from the Saudi Central Bank showed there were 598,861 transactions last month for both ATM cash withdrawals and credit card transactions at retail outlets and […] February 3, 2023
Analysis Banking and Finance Saudi takes fintech to ‘new level’ with Open Banking Lab The launch of a new Open Banking Lab in Saudi Arabia is set to take the fintech sector to a “new level” in the kingdom, according to industry experts. Saudi Central Bank, also known as Sama, is tracking the readiness of banks and fintechs with a view to launch open banking services by the end […] January 10, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi central bank governor says monetary conditions ‘reassuring’ Saudi Arabia’s central bank governor said that the country’s monetary conditions are “reassuring” due to prudent monetary policy and that its banking sector enjoyed good liquidity. In a statement, Governor Fahad Almubarak said that the Saudi Central Bank would continue to manage foreign exchange reserves based on “balanced investment policies”. He noted that despite the […] December 8, 2022
Exclusive Banking and Finance Crypto giant Binance eyes UAE acquisitions and Saudi expansion Crypto exchange Binance is in talks with financial regulators in Saudi Arabia to expand into the kingdom. The company is also eyeing web3 tech investments in the UAE, and has appointed a fund manager based in Abu Dhabi. Binance, which is the world’s biggest crypto exchange, saw a 49 percent year-to-date increase in its Mena […] November 14, 2022
Analysis Economy Gulf rate hike: Good for gold and bonds, bad for credit Gulf companies have been able to absorb rising interest rates but as regional central banks follow the US Federal Reserve’s latest hike, borrowing appetite is likely to be subdued. It may, however, be good for gold, bank deposits and fixed income. Four of the Gulf states announced on Wednesday that they would increase their key […] November 3, 2022
Opinion Banking and Finance Islamic insurers face a turbulent year While growth prospects of Islamic insurers in the GCC remain favourable, weak profitability has been an issue for the sector November 2, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia reports 195% rise in crypto trading The Middle East and North Africa region saw $566 billion in cryptocurrency trading between July 2021 and June 2022, a year-on-year increase of 48 percent, making it the fastest growing region in the world. The 2022 Geography of Cryptocurrency report, by New York-based blockchain data platform Chainalysis, found that Saudi Arabia was one of the […] October 6, 2022
