The Saudi Shura Council approved on Monday a new draft law, which includes changing the name of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) to the Saudi Central Bank, with the aim of giving the new bank more power and flexibility to achieve economic and financial goals.
During a regular session, the Council heard an expanded report by the chairman of the Finance Committee and unanimously voted on the proposed system.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saleh Al-Khelwi, Chairman of the Financial Committee, said that the new system would transform SAMA into a central bank that enjoys the same specifications and standards of global central banks.
He noted that 65 years have passed since the establishment of the agency, underlining the need to develop it.
Moreover, the new system would give the Saudi central bank additional powers and a form of independence and flexibility in investments and would allow it to perform all kinds of financial and banking transactions.
SAMA’s establishment dates back to the era of King Abdulaziz, who issued two royal decrees in 1952 to launch the agency that would be based in Jeddah.
The agency’s tasks include, among other, printing and supporting the national currency (the Saudi riyal), consolidating and stabilizing its internal and external value, as well as managing the Kingdom’s foreign exchange reserves, while supervising the monetary policy to maintain price stability and exchange rates.
