The Saudi Central Bank (), previously known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA; ), established in 1952, is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

of the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Despite the name change in 2020, 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 The Alawwal Bank (), previously known as Saudi Hollandi Bank, was a Saudi Arabian bank based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was the first operating bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was founded in 1926 as a branch of the Netherlands Trading ...

, 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. The building's current headquarters, which was built in 1985 was designed by American architect

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...

. 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 bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

s, 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

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

Senior Management

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) 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 A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

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.

References

External links

SAMA Official WebsiteEncyclopædia BritannicaSAMA SWFI Profile
{{authority control 1952 establishments in Saudi Arabia Banks established in 1952 Banks of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Government agencies of Saudi Arabia Sovereign wealth funds