Saturday 7 February 2009

Saudis show the way for Washington policymakers

In March of 2005, a year before the Saudi Arabian stock market reached its peak, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency summoned its charges among the banks to its elegant Riyadh headquarters.

Concerned that investors were putting money into shares without regard for fundamentals, the central bank's officials warned the banks not to finance excessive speculation.

"We were accused of micro-managing. They said that the SAMA was intrusive when we said 'slow down'," recalls Muhammad Al-Jasser, the SAMA vice-governor. "Now they want to kiss our foreheads."

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