RIYADH, 25 December 2003 — Many people face having their bank accounts frozen or even closed if they fail to comply with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) directive.
The directive fixes Dec. 31 as the cut-off date for account holders to update personal information with their banks.
There are more than three million account holders with different types of accounts in the Kingdom’s nine commercial banks.
Senior bankers told Arab News that commercial banks have tightened restrictions on account holders as well as defaulters. Account-holders are asked to provide copies of validated identity cards, residence permits and passports according to SAMA rules.
According to one source, SAMA also maintains a credit card and consumer defaulter list and a separate list of high-worth defaulters/customers.
Many installment companies are working closely with local banks to identify defaulters. This is in addition to an increasing number of credit card defaulters which concerns both bankers and the credit card companies.
Despite the growth in fraud and default, the last four years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of credit and charge cards issued in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi commercial banks, whose balances exceed SR440 billion, are also complying with the rules in opening new accounts, bankers explained.
The bankers said that the banks have intensified efforts to find blacklisted individuals who have failed to repay bank loans and car installments. Those on the blacklist of defaulters will not be granted any future loan or allowed to buy cars on installment.
“We list the defaulters on a special list, barring them from taking advantage of all banking facilities,” said Fahd Abdullah Al-Rajhi, deputy general manager of Al-Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation (ARABIC).
Thousands of customers maintain accounts in ARABIC which, with 391 branches, is the largest banking network in the Kingdom. “A shared blacklist of defaulters already exists and has been very helpful to banks,” Al-Rajhi said.
