VOL. XLIII

No. 07

14-February-2000

SAUDI ARABIA

IMF Describes Saudi Banking Sector As "Sound" But Criticizes NPL Classification

The latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV Consultation report on the Saudi economy describes the countrys eleven commercial banks as being "in a sound position," listing high capitalization and low non-performing loan (NPL) ratios as a share of the total loan portfolio as supporting factors. The report, which is dated September 1999 and offers a...