The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published today its peer review of Saudi Arabia.
The peer review examined three topics relevant for financial stability and important for Saudi Arabia: the macroprudential policy framework, bank resolution and deposit insurance. The review focused on the steps taken by the authorities to implement reforms in these areas, including with respect to relevant recommendations in the 2011 Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) report by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The peer review concludes that a fair amount of progress has been made on all three topics. In particular, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has developed and started operationalising a macroprudential policy framework, including by establishing a high-level internal Financial Stability Committee and recently issuing its first Financial Stability Report; a draft resolution law has been proposed that contains the elements described in the FSB’s Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes; and an explicit deposit insurance system will be introduced from 1 January 2016.
The peer review also found that there is additional work to be done:
- On the macroprudential side, SAMA needs to further strengthen institutional arrangements, enhance its analytical capacity for financial stability and publicly communicate macroprudential policy measures. The proposed establishment of a National Financial Stability Committee would further strengthen coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Capital Markets Authority on systemic risk analysis and the adoption of measures to promote financial stability.
- On the bank resolution side, the authorities should proceed with the prompt adoption of the draft law and make it operational.
- On the deposit insurance system, further work is needed to address depositors’ perception of an implicit deposit guarantee and clarify the implementing rules to ensure that it can function credibly and effectively.
The peer review report includes recommendations to the Saudi authorities in order to address these issues.
