Saudi central bank submits new banking draft law to legislative authorities
The IMF noted that the new Banking Law has been submitted for legislative approval, a risk-based supervisory framework is being refined, and a monitoring system has been introduced for large construction and infrastructure projects.
Additionally, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is operationalizing its bank resolution function and has made good progress in establishing a crisis management framework that includes an emergency liquidity assistance framework, which the IMF said should be completed without undue delay.
Improvements in enhancing the effectiveness of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) supervision — including through thematic inspections — were also welcomed.
The Article IV assessment affirmed the resilience of the Saudi economy, citing steady non-oil GDP growth driven by private investment and consumption, low inflation anchored at 2.2 percent, and unemployment levels below Vision 2030 targets.
The banking sector was highlighted for its strong capitalization, with a solvency ratio of 19.6 percent at the end of 2024, record-low non-performing loans since 2016, and solid profitability indicators.
SAMA is also reviewing its prudential toolkit to address risks from rapid credit expansion and has introduced a 100-basis-point countercyclical capital buffer to safeguard financial stability.
© Copyright 2022 The Saudi Gazette. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
23 minutes ago
- Zawya
Oman's vehicle registrations rise 5.5% to nearly 1.8mln
Muscat – The total number of registered vehicles in Oman reached 1,798,062 till the end of June this year, marking a 5.5% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI). Private vehicles made up the majority of registered vehicles, accounting for 79.3% with 1,425,308 units. Commercial vehicles followed at 14.7% (264,913), while rental vehicles represented 2.3% (41,386). The remainder included taxis, government vehicles, and other categories. White vehicles remained the most common on Omani roads, representing 42.3% of the total, or 761,358 vehicles. Silver was the second most popular colour at 12.9% (231,822), followed by grey with 181,140 registered vehicles. In terms of engine capacity, vehicles with engines between 1,500cc and 3,000cc comprised the largest share at 54.5% (979,300), while those with capacities between 3,001cc and 4,500cc made up 22.2% (399,770). Vehicles weighing under 3 tonnes formed the largest weight category, representing 90.7% of total registrations, or 1,631,392 vehicles. © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Khaleej Times
23 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE economy to grow 5% in 2025, says Standard Chartered
The UAE economy will grow five per cent this year and four per cent over the next two years, according to forecasts by Standard Chartered. The global bank's growth forecast for this year is higher than the Central Bank of UAE's projection of 4.4 per cent for 2025, but less than 5.4 per cent predicted for the next year. The lender projected that the inflation in the country would stay at three per cent for three consecutive years. According to the UAE Central Bank, inflation in the UAE was 1.1 per cent in March 2025, driven primarily by an increase in non-tradeable inflation. It projected a current account balance of seven per cent of GDP for 2025, increasing to eight per cent next year and 10 per cent in 2027. Manpreet Gill, chief investment officer of Africa, Middle East and Europe, Standard Chartered, said the long-term view on the UAE and the Gulf region is being a growth bright spot. 'We continue to observe that geopolitical risks can lead to short-term sentiment jitters, but they do not appear to influence long-term trends in markets or investment flows. For this region, the impact was perhaps most visible in oil prices, which are now largely back to where they were before tensions erupted. The long-term focus remains very much on the region being a growth bright spot in a world where headline growth remains tepid in many regions,' Gill told Khaleej Times. However, Standard Chartered projected that the oil oversupply remains the dominating theme. 'We expect West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to trade in a range around $65 per barrel over the next 3-12 months. Geopolitical risks may result in temporary spikes in oil prices,' it said. 'A standalone demand-supply outlook continues to argue for an oversupplied oil market, which is behind our $65 a barrel forecast for WTI over 6-12 months. Geopolitics is a clear upside risk — while the extent of excess supply and Opec+ spare capacity can help offset this, near-term spikes in prices cannot be ruled out,' said Standard Chartered in its Global Market Outlook report.
Zawya
23 minutes ago
- Zawya
Egypt: Elsewedy Electric's consolidated profits up 3.1% YoY in H1 2025
Arab Finance: The consolidated net profits attributable to the parent of Elsewedy Electric grew by 3.1% year-on-year (YoY) to EGP 8.694 billion in the first half (H1) of 2025, versus EGP 8.435 billion, as per the financial results. The revenues hit EGP 123.800 billion at the end of June 2025, up 20.6% YoY from EGP 102.626 billion. Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) declined to EGP 3.55 in H1 2025 from EGP 3.56 a year earlier. Regarding the standalone business, the EGX-listed firm turned profitable at EGP 2.173 billion in H1 2025, against net losses valued at EGP 109.900 million a year earlier. Non-consolidated revenues plunged to EGP 499.425 million from EGP 3.608 billion. Ahmed El Sewedy, CEO of Elsewedy Electric, commented: 'In H1 2025, we achieved solid revenue growth of 20.6%, alongside a net profit margin of 7%, reflecting the strength of our diversified operations and disciplined execution.' He added: 'As previously highlighted, gross margins are gradually normalizing, in line with our expectations. Nonetheless, they remained resilient in the face of ongoing global challenges, underscoring the robustness of our business model and our ability to adapt to shifting market dynamics.' © 2025 All Rights Reserved Arab Finance For Information Technology Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
