The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has never been lenient with any Saudi bank found guilty of client abuse, said Hamad Al-Sayyari, governor of SAMA. The assurance by the chief of Saudi Arabia's central bank came amid growing customer complaints about questionable practices by Saudi banks. A source at SAMA's Financial Disputes Settlement Committee said up to 2,000 bank financing deals have turned sour of late, following allegations by clients that they were being ripped off. Also, disputes have arisen after banks rushed to unilaterally liquidate client portfolios and recover loans in view of the banking cash crunch from the global financial crisis. “Banks found guilty of abusing their customers have been fined millions of riyals,” Sayyari said. He refuted accusations that SAMA is soft on certain local banks. “This is completely wrong,” he said. “Penalties are imposed without any discrimination on every single bank found violating the banking system or doing their clients wrong.” The Financial Disputes Settlement Committee has lately come under fire for leaving plaintiffs awaiting compensation at the mercy of banks.
