JEDDAH, 17 February 2004 — Deposits in Saudi commercial banks reached a record level of SR356.3 billion ($95 billion) last year, registering an 8.5 percent increase (SR28 billion) compared with the total of the previous year (SR328.3 billion), according to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.
Deposits in current accounts jumped to SR167.6 billion from SR150 billion in 2002 while fixed deposits rose to SR113.4 billion from SR108 billion in the previous year. Semi-monetary deposits and foreign remittances of expatriates amounted to SR75.4 billion.
“The increase in current account deposits, which accounted for 47 percent of the total, was a major factor for the rise in bank profits,” Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, reported quoting banking sources. Depositors in the current account generally do not demand interest, the sources said.
“The rise in deposits also reflected the strength of the Kingdom’s economy, its growing liquidity and increase in repatriated funds,” the paper said.
According to SAMA, Saudi bank deposits soared from SR783 million in 1963 to SR143.7 billion in 1990, SR197 billion in 1995 and SR263.6 billion in 2000.