Saudi Central Bank

The Saudi Central Bank (), established in 1952 and known until 2020 as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA; ), is the central bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite the 2020 name change, the Saudi Central Bank has continued to use the same acronym SAMA.

History Prior to the establishment of the Saudi Central Bank, the Saudi Hollandi Bank, a branch of the Netherlands Trading Society from 1926 acted as a de facto central bank. It kept the Kingdom's gold reserves and received oil revenues on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government. In 1928 it assisted in the establishment of a new Saudi silver coin, commissioned by King Abdulaziz which became the Kingdom's first independent currency. The Saudi Hollandia Bank handed over its responsibilities to the SAMA when it was established in 1952 and became a model for other foreign banks in the kingdom.

SAMA relocated in 1984 from Jeddah to Riyadh. The institution's new head office building was designed by American architect Minoru Yamasaki and completed in 1985.

The modern central bank operates through regulatory infrastructure developed by Irish firm Vizor. In March 2020 and April 2020, SAMA moved 150 billion Saudi riyals (US$40 billion) to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). US$25 billion was transferred in April and US$15 billion in May.

Functions SAMA is the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, the functions of the SAMA include issuing the national currency, the Saudi Riyal, supervising commercial banks, managing foreign exchange reserves, promoting price and exchange rate stability, and ensuring the growth and soundness of the financial system, operating a number of cross-bank electronic financial systems such as MADA (previously SPAN), SARIE, and SADAD.About the SAMA SAMA

List of governors

Name Tenure Ayman Mohammed Alsayari Since 2023 Fahad Almubarak 2021–2023 2016-2021 Fahad Almubarak 2011–2016 Muhammad Al Jasser 2009–2011 Hamad Ibn Saud Al Sayari 1983–2009 Abdul Aziz Al Quraishi 1974–1983 Anwar Ali 1958–1974 Ralph Standish 1954–1958 George A. Blowers 1952–1954

Leadership and structure

A board of directors oversees the operations of SAMA. This comprises the governor, vice-governor and three other nominated members from the private sector. The terms of appointment are 4 years for the governor and vice-governor, extendable by Royal decree, and 5 years for the other members, also extendable by Royal decree. Members of the board cannot be removed except by Royal decree.

The SAMA senior management comprises the governor, the vice-governor and five deputy governors.

Board of directors Name Position Governor, Dr. Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey Chairman Vice Governor, Abdulaziz Salih Alfuraih Vice Chairman Hamad S. Al Sayari Muhammad Obaid bin Sa’eed bin Zagar Abdulaziz bin Muhammad Al Athel

Senior Management

Name Position Date of appointment Ayman Mohammed Alsayari Governor 4 February 2023 Khaled Walid-Dhaher Vice Governor for Supervision & Technology 4 July 2022 Ziad Bander Alyousef Deputy Governor for Development & Technology N/A Yazeed Ahmed AlSheikh Deputy Governor for Supervision N/A Dr. Fahad Ibrahim Alshathri Deputy Governor for Research And International Affairs N/A Talal Fouad Alhumoud Deputy Governor for Investment N/A

Balance sheet The SAMA balance sheet is denominated in Saudi Riyals, which is pegged at an official rate of 3.75 against the US dollar. All currency notes issued by SAMA are fully backed by equivalent gold deposits.

(Millions of Saudi Riyals) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012* Liabilities Notes Issued Government Deposits 514,123 933,912 1,008,251 1,203,477 1,299,676 Commercial Banks' Deposits 36,277 44,698 50,715 54,976 63,511 68,011 Foreign entities' Riyal Deposits 14,939 12,488 10,300 10,310 3,774 3,750 Other liabilities 525,424 479,406 452,599 495,823 618,069 617,698 Total 1,196,816 1,709,995 1,570,653 1,705,389 2,057,864 2,154,065 Assets Currency cover (gold) 106,054 121,066 123,127 136,029 169,033 164,930 Cash in vault 23,842 27,053 23,876 25,060 29,187 24,171 Deposits with banks abroad 246,792 379,487 335,673 343,887 414,007 495,246 Investments in foreign securities 790,559 1,154,247 1,071,542 1,181,916 1,427,820 1,446,610 Other assets 29,569 28,142 16,435 18,497 17,817 23,108 Total 1,196,816 1,709,995 1,570,653 1,705,389 2,057,864 2,154,065 2012 figures are at end of 1st quarter.Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency 48th Annual Report, p. 36

SAMA Foreign Holdings

In addition to its functions, the Saudi Central Bank controls SAMA Foreign Holdings, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The fund is the third largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, with assets of over $700 billion.

In October 2015, Governor Fahad Abdullah Al-Mubarak of the Saudi Central Bank was ranked #2 on the Public Investor 100.

Saudi Central Bank

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