‎“SAMA”: Bank deposits in Saudi banks increased by 7.5% ‎during November ‎

A study conducted by the newspaper (Maaal) based on the monthly statistical report of the Saudi Central Bank “SAMA” for November revealed that the volume of bank deposits increased by 7.5%, with a value equivalent to 171.4 billion riyals on an annual basis, rising to 2460.3 billion riyals compared to 2288.9 billion riyals at the end of November 2022. This increase resulted from an increase in time and savings deposits amounting to 202.9 billion riyals, a growth of 31.9%, as well as an increase in the balance of demand deposits, but by a slight rate of 0.4%, equivalent to 4.9 billion riyals, at a time when current deposits declined by 11.2%. %, with a value of 36.4 billion riyals, falling to 288.2 billion riyals, compared to 324.6 billion riyals in November 2022.

The major central banks have stopped tightening the monetary policy that they began nearly a year and a half ago by raising interest rates to control inflation and rising prices, which began to bear fruit in light of the start of a contraction in global inflation beginning in the third quarter of 2023, which led to a slowdown in the rise. Prices and the decline in the core personal consumption expenditures index – the preferred indicator of the US Federal Reserve in the United States to measure inflation – to 3.2% this November on an annual basis, compared to 5.6% last year, in addition to a decline in inflation rates in the United Kingdom and the Eurozone to 3.9% and 2.4%, respectively, which is the lowest level since 2021. ‎

According to (MAL) monitoring, this was reflected in the monetary policy in the Kingdom. Since the end of July 2023, the Saudi Central Bank “SAMA” has not raised interest rates, which reached 600 basis points (6%) in the repurchase agreement (RR). , 550 basis points (5.5%), the reverse repurchase agreement rate (reverse repo RRR), and the main overnight interest rate in the range of 5.25% to 5.5%, and “SAMA” continued to stabilize it throughout the last period with the expectation that it will decrease in 2024, Which is expected to have a positive impact on the investment environment in the Kingdom and alleviate the pressures of the high cost of financing for companies, which improves the operating economics of companies operating in the Kingdom and the continued expansion of their activities, in addition to the positive impact of low interest rates on the Saudi financial market and the expectation of achieving gains during the coming period. ‎

While bank deposits increased on an annual basis, they declined on a monthly level in line with the current monetary policy of the Central Bank. The volume of deposits declined in November compared to October by 20.4 billion riyals, falling to 2460.3 billion riyals compared to 2480.7 billion riyals, and the decline was concentrated in The balance of current deposits decreased by about 38.2 billion riyals, a decrease of 0.8%, in addition to the decrease in time and savings deposits, which decreased by about 3.7 billion riyals. This was coupled with an increase in demand deposits worth 21.6 billion riyals.