The ongoing global financial crisis has had limited effects on the Saudi banking sector. Fighting through recent years — with the 2006 stock market crash and a bullish year in 2007 — Saudi banks in 2008 have “performed relatively well,” noted Murad Ansari, vice president at EFG-Hermes KSA. Saudi banks are not immune to the global troubles, but they are definitely less exposed than other banks around the world, especially since “almost 86% of total assets of the banking sector are invested in domestic assets,” as described in a recent EFG-Hermes report. Due to their low exposure to international credit, equity, and property markets, Saudi banks have been able to insulate themselves from the storm of the international crisis. And thus, according to EFG-Hermes, “Saudi banks are relatively well positioned to weather the impact of the ongoing financial turmoil.” Also sheltering Saudi banks from the global chaos is the minimal
