Talaat Hafez, Secretary General of the Information and Banking Awareness Committee for Saudi Banks, emphasized the strength of the Saudi economy and its resistance to any financial crises, and expected the profits of Saudi banks in early 2016 to grow by 3%, despite the geopolitical conflicts faced by the Middle East countries.

In a press interview, Hafez described the performance of Saudi banks during 2015 as excellent, and said: In my belief, the year will end with this good performance, and this is due to several considerations, including the strength of the Saudi economy, thank God, despite the sharp decline in oil prices, which reached more than 60% compared to what it was in June 2014, but besides that, the Kingdom still enjoys positive economic growth, as growth last year amounted to 3.47%, under reasonable inflationary pressures of 2.3%.

Hafez predicted that Saudi banks' profits in early 2016 will grow by 3%, in spite of the countries of the Middle East and geopolitical conflicts. He expected GDP growth for the current year to exceed 3%, pointing to the abundance of liquidity in the financial and economic system and the large cumulative balance in the Kingdom's reserves, and God willing, 2015 will conclude with good results for the banking sector.