Saudi Arabia Telling Foreign Banks to Disclose Finances

Saudi Arabia’s investment banking regulator is telling international banks to publicly disclose financial statements for the first time as the kingdom seeks to boost transparency. The Capital Markets Authority is requiring financial institutions it regulates to publish the information on their websites from April 1. The CMA has said firms must also disclose senior executives’ pay and significant risk factors. The only banks which need to disclose financial statements now are the 12 publicly traded domestic lenders regulated by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The disclosure will give insight into how much money banks are making amid a slowdown in economic growth, as well as the cost of employing top executives.