Saudi Arabia’s banks are known for their conservatism, but an aversion to lending sprees has roundly paid off over the past year. After a stock market crash in 2006, the kingdom’s banks entered the financial crisis with little leverage, modest real estate exposure and healthy balance sheets.
Nor had relatively insular Saudi banks been active borrowers on international money markets, and a reliance on deposits has shielded them from the liquidity problems that have plagued other Gulf banks.
