RIYADH, 29 November 2005 — Rapid growth of e-banking in the Kingdom has accelerated the need for information security for the banking sector in the Kingdom, observed Hamad Al-Sayari, governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA).
The governor was making the keynote address at the Annual Conference on Information Security for Banking Sector held on Sunday at the King Faisal Hall here.
The event sponsored by SAMA in cooperation with the commercial banks was attended by representatives from banks and financial institutions. Mohammed Al-Suwayyil, governor of Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), was also present. An exhibition was also inaugurated by the SAMA governor which ran concurrently with the symposium. Al-Sayari said online banking continues to grow in popularity, however, he noted as consumers become more adept with Internet banking services. He recalled that in 2004, 15 percent of the banks’ customers used e-banking, this year it has risen to 18 percent and in the next year it is anticipated to reach 22 percent.
“When a user effectively transacts business through e-banking, others would follow,” he said, pointing out that SAMA is trying to build confidence among customers by adopting new security systems. He said the number of hackers in the Kingdom is negligible compared to other countries. He indicated that his organization has made use of modern technology to enhance banking services in the Kingdom.
He said SAMA had to bring in new regulations for personal bank loans to curtail the abuse of such loans by the customers.
Touching on the stock market in the Kingdom, the governor said SAMA will not get directly involved in the fluctuation of the market. Regarding the Kingdom’s accession to the World Trade Organization, he said: “ It will not have a direct impact on the banking system here since the Kingdom is home to several foreign banks for many decades.”
SAMA has appointed Information Security Managers Committee (ISMC) comprising representatives from all the banks in to Kingdom to exchange information on information security among the banks and to ensure security compliance with SAMA security guidelines.” ISMC would raise information security awareness among banks and consumers.”
He said the conference with outstanding speakers and accomplished exhibition is an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience in security and e-banking services between banks, vendors and consumers.