We are pleased to present our Banking perspectives: Saudi Arabia 2022 publication. In this edition, our financial services team covers the evolving landscape that we have observed and that banks had to grapple with. Centered on the theme on purpose-led banking, these articles encompass regulatory and digital transformation that banks and financial institutions need to contend with, while also bracing themselves from emerging challenges.
Saudi Arabia has ambitious goals to achieve through Vision 2030, with an instrumental role for the government and regulators in pushing the agenda of digitalization and transformation. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has been a proponent of change and development in the financial sector, in line with the objectives of the Financial Sector Development Program. SAMA has taken new players in the financial sector under its wing and has embraced a positive attitude towards new technology to usher banking into the future. Banks are responding to this shift and to the requirements of the government to achieve greater economic development, while considering the threats and opportunities permeating an evolving technological and risk environment.
Banks are responding to the requirements of the government to achieve greater economic development, while considering the threats and opportunities permeating an evolving technological and risk environment.
We categorized articles in this edition across four themes: People-centered banking, Governance and compliance, Transformational technologies, and Enabling excellence. In the opening chapter, we discuss the future of the banking sector through purpose and opportunities afforded to banks and financial institutions when tackling ESG requirements, new technology, disruptors, such as the FinTech sector and digital banking, and values-based banking. We then delve into regulatory matters to explore how banks can utilize compliance to drive business outcomes.
As the undercurrent for any talk of the future must include a dive into technology, our third section covers strategies and tools that enable banks to maintain a competitive edge in a shifting financial landscape. This evolving environment includes new and old risks as well as cybersecurity and data privacy threats that banks need to consider. As such, we dedicated the final section of this publication to tackling these topics and raising key considerations and recommendations for the banking sector.
We hope that you find this edition of Banking perspectives timely and insightful for addressing your current challenges. Our team looks forward to connecting with you to discuss these themes and trends in greater detail.
