The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), established in 1952, is the central bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
[edit] History
Prior to the establishment of the Saudi Monetary Agency, the Saudi Hollandi Bank, a branch of the Netherlands Trading Society acted as a de-facto central bank, keeping the Kingdom's gold reserves and receiving oil revenues on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government. In 1928 it assisted in the establishment of the Saudi Riyal, a new 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 and became a model for other foreign banks in the kingdom.[1]
At the time of its establishment, Saudi Arabia did not have a monetary system of its own. Foreign currencies were used as a medium of exchange, along with Saudi silver coins. Saudi bank notes had not yet been issued. Banking was conducted by foreign bank branches. Therefore, the first task of the SAMA was to develop a Saudi currency. The SAMA also paid attention to the need for promoting the growth of a national banking system. In March 1961, Saudi Arabia converted to the Saudi Riyal, in accordance with Article VIII of the Articles of Agreements of the International Monetary Fund. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the SAMA focused on controlling inflation as the economy boomed, expanding the banking system, and managing foreign exchange reserves. From mid 1980s, SAMA’s priorities have been to introduce financial market reforms.[2]
[edit] 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 (SPAN, Tadawul, SARIE, SADAD and MAQASA).[3]
[edit] Leadership
The governor of SAMA is Dr. Fahad AlMubarak, Since December 13, 2011. [1] 77.31.50.229 (talk) 12:50, 9 January 2012 (UTC)http://www.sama.gov.sa/sites/samaen/AboutSAMA/Pages/SAMAManagement.aspx
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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