1. Financial Consumer Protection in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) is the regulator and supervisor of licensed financial institutions including banks, finance companies, leasing and real estate companies, insurance companies, money exchanger companies and credit information companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SAMA has been a strong advocate of the protection of consumer interests since obtaining its charter in 1952 and the issuance of the Banking Control Law in 1966. Consequently, over this period, SAMA has played an important role ensuring that consumers are dealt with fairly and honestly by the financial institutions under its supervision.

In 2005, SAMA was designated as the regulator for the insurance sector under the Cooperative Insurance Law thus further extending SAMA's role in the licensing and supervision of financial institutions. More recently, SAMA has published the ‘Implementing Regulations of the Financial Lease Law' and the ‘Implementing Regulations of the Law on Supervision of Finance Companies'.