RIYADH, 19 November 2002 — Bankers yesterday denied media reports that Saudi women’s accounts in the Kingdom amount to SR100 billion. The figure is nearer a tenth of the amount, they estimate.
“The figures are exaggerated”, said Saudi American Bank chief economist Brad Bourland.“The deposit base of women in the banking sector is not that high.”
Riyadh Bank’s chief economist, Dr. Khan H. Zahid, is likewise dismissive. “The figures are rather surprising given that the total held in bank accounts is just over SR 237 billion.”
Statistics from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency show that SR147 billion is currently held in checking accounts and SR91 billion in savings accounts.
Over 50 percent of total deposits is held by corporate clients, bankers say, the rest by individuals. Given that men make up the overwhelming proportion of people in work, it does not make sense, they say, to assume that SR100 billion — around 80 percent of total individuals deposits — belong to women.
Although no figures on a breakdown of male/female accounts exist for the country as a whole, they estimate that female deposits are more likely to account for around SR10 billion.
