Banking sector is platform for growth

Well capitalized and strictly regulated, financial services firms are flourishing

With more than a dozen players of varying size, Saudi Arabia’s banking industry is well capitalized, a key conduit for FDI and trade, and complemented by a financial services sector comprising insurance companies, specialized lending institutions, and the stock exchange (Tadawul).

Industry guardian the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) operates as the central bank, with its remit including the supervision of banks and financial entities, management of monetary policy, and responsibility for ensuring strict compliance with banking system rules and regulations. The banking sector is at the heart of Vision 2030, with the Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) striving to develop a diversified and effective financial sector to support the development of the national economy, diversify sources of income, and stimulate savings, finance and investment, and introduce cutting-edge technologies to boost efficiencies.

“The FSDP will achieve this ambition by enabling financial institutions to support private sector growth, ensuring the formation of an advanced capital market, and promoting and enabling financial planning, without contradicting the strategic objectives of maintaining the stability and solidity of the financial sector,” notes the Vision 2030 document.

Vision 2030 commitments for 2020 include: increasing the total size of financial assets to GDP ratio to 201 percent from 192 percent in 2016; boosting the share of capital markets assets from 41 percent to 45 percent; increasing the share of SME financing at banks from 2 percent to 5 percent; opening up the financial services sector to new players, like Fintechs firms, to spur innovation and growth.

Banque Saudi Fransi eyes debut in mass-market segment

With its once traditional focus on corporate banking paving the way for strategic expansion into other sectors, Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) is a modern and dynamic financial institution fully geared to meet the challenges of the future. With 86 branches, nearly 560 ATMS, and more than 3,000 employees, BSF certainly has the experience, size and capacity to conquer new market segments, with retail banking currently in its sights.

“Our strategy is very much focused on capturing part of a market segment we have not efficiently addressed in the past, which is the mass-market segment,” reveals Rayan Fayez, Managing Director and CEO of BSF. “We are not planning to be a big retail bank, but we are only playing in 20 percent of the market when there is 80 percent we intentionally have not addressed previously. We will dip our toes into that now. We want to grow market share beyond our historical position to something more commensurate to our size. When you look at our number of branches, it represents roughly 5 percent of the market share of branches. When you look at our deposits, it also reflects 6-7 percent of retail deposits. But when you look at our assets, which are the retail loans, they are 2-3 percent of the market. When we say we want to grow our retail loan business it’s simply growing it into something commensurate to the

size of our retail network, as our assets are being under-utilized.” Recognized as one of the leading Shari’ah compliant financial providers in the kingdom, Bank Aljazira (BAJ) is a fast-growing, client-driven and service-oriented Saudi bank. Its broad product portfolio offers individuals, businesses, and institutions innovative financial services through teams of professional and dedicated staff. Given its extensive experience and operations in personal, corporate, and investment banking, BAJ is building on its strong foundations and investing heavily in digital services to take advantage of the kingdom’s technology-savvy young population. “One of the pillars of our new strategy is to build and focus on digital banking and encourage innovation,” explains BAJ CEO and Managing Director, Nabil Al Hoshan. “We have a significant portion of the new generation coming into the market and must be ready for them, and adapt to their needs.”

Boasting the largest customer base of any bank in the kingdom, the award-winning Al Rajhi Bank benefits from a vast network of more than 570 branches, over 150 dedicated ladies branches, nearly 4,800 ATMS, and more than 74,600 point of sale (POS) terminals installed with merchants.

“There are several competitive advantages that differentiate us,” states CEO Steve Bertamini. “We have the best distribution network in the Middle East; the strongest banking brand, and are also seen as the most innovative local brand in the country. Additionally we are the best capitalized bank in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and have the highest customer satisfaction as measured by our net promoter score. We have been outperforming the industry for quite some time. What has truly helped is our very clear strategic focus: on our customers, on the best digital experience, and on strategic sectors aligned with Vision 2030.”

Striving to become the preferred choice for genuine Islamic banking solutions, Bank Albilad offers financial products in business, retail, and investment banking. “With our investment in technology, people, infrastructure, product innovation and customer relationships, our strong growth will continue well into the future,” says CEO, Abdulaziz M. Alonaizan.

Innovative construction projects featuring distinct designs are real success

With lucrative large-scale investments in diverse sectors like real estate development, retail services, food and beverage, commercial aviation services, financial services, technologies, and health services, Hisham Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Investment Group’s reach is impressive. By concentrating on innovative projects with a distinct design, the company has established an outstanding reputation for excellence and minimizing risk through diversification.

“More than 50 percent of our investments are partnered with international companies,” notes General Director, Hisham Almousa. “We also have partnerships with several international companies in different fields. There are great opportunities in all sectors in Saudi Arabia and we look forward to embarking on major projects with them in the kingdom and elsewhere.”