The Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) Inaugurates SIMAH’s Rating Agency (Tassnief)

The governor of The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), Dr. Ahmed Bin Abdel-Karim Al-Kholaify, officiated the inauguration on Wednesday March 1st, of the Saudi Credit Bureau’s (SIMAH) new Credit Rating Agency, Tassnief. The ceremony, in the presence of a number of Their Excellencies, held at the Rafal Kempinski Hotel, was hosted by SIMAH. The formalities commenced with the recitation of verses from Quran. During his opening remarks, His Excellency Dr. Al-Kholaify noted that the Saudi Economy has witnessed since the beginning of this century a noticeable acceleration in the pace of balanced economic development across the Kingdom, with the average annual growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reaching 3.8% between 2001 and 2016. Dr.Al-Kholaify also highlighted that the economic policies are undergoing a fundamental change since the approval by the cabinet on Saudi Vision 2030, which will see the Kingdom reach towards sustainable and diversified economy that is resilient to challenges in the economy and create further job opportunities.

In the light of restructuring of the national economy, Dr. Al-Kholiafy indicated that the financial and banking sector plays a vital role in supporting these achievements that contribute to the prosperity of the economy. Noting in addition, that SAMA contributes significantly by implementing banking policies aimed at strengthening financial stability, developing the financial sector and raising its efficiency in the provision of financial and credit services. His Excellency reiterated the importance of developing the financial sector’s infrastructure to establish effective risk management policies and enhance the opportunities for startup companies and individuals to get the appropriate funding. Timely and accurate credit information collected from the leading players in the market is considered one of the pillars for the good governance and efficiency of the credit market and the quality of risk management. Dr. Al-Kholiafy added that SIMAH is responsible for collecting and providing the credit information to the members under the supervision of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) according to a clear framework. This framework protects the data and privacy rights of the organization’s customers and ensures the quality and confidentiality of the information and the mechanisms of exchanging them with full commitment to the standards of neutrality and non-interference in member decisions.

The Chief Executive Officer of SIMAH, Mr. Nabil Al-Mubarak voiced his gratitude to the governor of the (SAMA) for presiding over the inauguration of SIMAH’s Rating Agency, valuing the presence of Their Excellencies former governors of the institution and the VIPs to support SIMAH in the Saudi Market. Mr. Al-Mubarak stated that SIMAH is regarded as an important, effective and complementary element to the main pillars of the financial sector, reiterating SIMAH’s principles of neutrality and non-interference in its members’ decisions with respect to the usage of the bureau supplied information. Mr. Al-Mubarak also stressed that the credit reports the institution provides for the local market reflect the financial solvency, creditworthiness and payment choices for borrowers.

While commenting on SIMAH’s main achievements in the past two years, Mr. Al-Mubarak stressed that the inauguration of SIMAH’s Rating Agency represented a qualitative expansion, not only for SIMAH but also for the Saudi financial market. He added that Tassnief, a Saudi Company owned by SIMAH and licensed by the Capital Market Authority, is a new endeavor to be known for its technical capabilities, expertise, and human resources which have skills that are needed to establish credit rating services in the Saudi Market. The organisation has managerial expertise and effective technologies that are used to conduct credit assessments quickly and effectively. With its accurate and organized methodologies, Tassnief will continuously monitor the market developments to reflect actual credit risks of the rated entities and better inform the investors. In addition he stressed that Tassnief’s rating criteria is compliant with the international standards and approved by the Capital Market Authority.

With respect to SIMAH’s main tasks, Mr. Al-Mubarak stated the business is working on providing an effective financial infrastructure that can be relied on to support sustainable economic growth and development of the financial infrastructure for the Kingdom. These activities will help drive the growth of the private sector, increase lenders and investors confidence and reduce uncertainty through improving the ability to asses and manage risk.

The new services will provide the needed credit information to support the lender in decision-making process, thus, improve abilities in analyzing the credit risks and assess the financial solvency based on the credit information. It will also support the lender to collect and analyze the demographic information, and financial and non-financial variables available in the credit reports. This information will help fund providers or related authorities that need to understand borrower behavior based on complicated mathematical models using variables and data in a more timely and user friendly manner.

To conclude the ceremony, His Excellency gave thanks to the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, previous governors of the institution and SIMAH’s board members.

Source:  SIMAH Press Release