Saudi Arabia's King Salman orders removal of Central Bank Governor

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman orders removal of Central Bank Governor

Saudi Arabia has appointed a new governor of its central bank after Fahad Al Mubarak removed from his post

Written by Staff Writer Thu 2 Feb 2023Thu 2 Feb 2023

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has relieved the Kingdom’s central bank governor of his post and appointed a replacement with immediate effect.

Fahad Al Mubarak was removed from his post following a royal decree, state-run press agency SPA said.

A further royal decree announced Ayman Alsayari as the new head of Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank.

Saudi Arabia removes Central Bank Governor

Alsayari joined the central bank in 1999 and was previously the vice-governor for investment and research at the central bank. He is on the board of directors of Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Centre.

He holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University, a BSc in Accounting from King Fahd University, and completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Departing Al Mubarak is a former Morgan Stanley banker and will become an adviser to the Royal Court.

Saudi Arabia recorded a budget surplus of $27.13bn (SR102bn) last year. It was marked up SR12bn ($3.2bn) on a stronger than expected economic performance.

The new Central Bank Governor has been appointed as KSA has set a budget expecting revenues of SR1.234tn ($328bn) and spending of SR1.32tn ($352bn).

SAMA has been raising interest rates to match increases by the US Federal Reserve and protect the country’s currency peg to the dollar.

Al Mubarak was previously a minister of state and also served as SAMA governor from 2011 to 2016, before being reappointed in January 2021.

SAMA’s position as the Kingdom’s leading vehicle for foreign investment has been overtaken by the Public Investment Fund.

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