KSA processing 3 applications for banking licenses

The Saudi central bank has received three applications for banking licenses and processing them is at an advanced stage, central bank governor Ahmed Al-Kholifey told a news conference on Wednesday.

Another central bank official said no more bank mergers were expected.

Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank agreed in April to start talks on a possible merger.

Officials painted a highly positive picture of the economy, saying growth was likely to strengthen and they were not worried by deflation.

Kholifey said that in light of indicators in the first half of this year, he expected positive results for economic growth in the coming period.

Another central bank official said the bank was not worried about deflation because consumption was rising.

Officials also said they saw no reason for the riyal to fall in the forward foreign exchange market, that liquidity in the banking system was good, and that there was no concern about banks’ bad loans.