Fsdp Quarterly Newsletter Q2 2024 Vf · Page 5

 
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Financial Sector Development Highlights 
SAMA: Total Assets for Saudi Finance Companies Sector 
Grew by 13% in 2023 
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) published the Annual 
Performance Report of the Saudi Finance and Real Estate 
Refinance Companies Sector for the year 2023. The report 
highlighted the sector's developments and financials 
during 2023, where the paid-up share capital for finance 
companies sector increased by 6% to SAR 15.5bn, total 
assets by 13% to SAR 64.2bn, and total finance portfolio 
by 12% to SAR 84.7bn. The report also highlighted that 
the Net income of finance companies sector stood at SAR 
1.7 billion. Likewise, the total assets of the real estate 
refinancing sector witnessed an increase of 48%, reaching 
SAR 31bn. 
In terms of loan portfolio classification, the retail sector 
accounted for the largest share at 77%, followed by MSME 
sector 20%, and the corporate sector at 3%. 
By the end of 2023, the number of employees (male and 
female) working in finance companies exceeded 6,000 
employees where Saudis accounted for 86% of the total 
number of employees. 
SAMA: E-Payments Share Reached 70% of Total 
Payments in 2023 
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced that the share 
of retail consumer electronic payments reached 70% of 
total retail payments in 2023, up from 62% in 2022.  
This achievement is attributed to the significant growth 
of payments processed through national payment systems 
in 2023, which reached 10.8bn transactions compared to 
8.7bn transactions in 2022. 
Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) Licensed 2 Companies In 
The 2nd Quarter of 2024. 
The total number of companies licensed by the Saudi 
Central Bank (SAMA) in the 2nd quarter of 2024 is 2 
companies: 
• 
Fintech in debt-based crowdfunding: 
1. 
“Funding 
Souq" 
to 
provide 
debt-based 
crowdfunding solutions. 
2. 
“Hala 
Financing" 
to 
provide 
debt-based 
crowdfunding solutions.     
The Financial Academy Celebrates the Graduation of 
25 executives leading the financial future 
The program resulted in the graduation of 25 financial 
sector executives who completed a 4-month training 
journey in collaboration with international partners and 
17 experts. The FFLP aimed to enrich the professional 
journey of financial sector leaders by preparing them for 
future challenges and enabling them to forecast 
outcomes and mitigate risks. The program, aligned with 
the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) of 
Vision 2030, was designed with unique themes and 
innovative methods. 
SAMA Launches “Account Finder” for Retail Banking 
Customers 
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) launched "Account Finder" 
service for retail customers across local banks on 
Thursday, May 9, 2024. 
The new service enables customers to verify ownership of
their personal accounts at local banks through digital 
banking. 
The service will contribute to enhancing reliability and 
reducing risks of suspicious transactions, unauthorized
use of accounts, and impersonation. This underscores the 
continuous commitment of both SAMA and the banking 
sector to introduce value-added services and ensure 
security 
in 
e-banking 
transactions 
in 
line 
with 
international best practices. 
SAMA Joins Mbridge Project as MVP Platform
Participant 
As part of the Saudi Central Bank’s (SAMA) pursuit to build
a 
robust 
and 
innovative 
cross-border 
payments 
infrastructure in collaboration with various international 
financial institutions and central banks, SAMA has joined 
the Bank