But when the landscape is dark and threatening, those charged with making monetary policy must comport themselves with a grace that reassures markets and the public that they are calmly in control of the sacred charge with which they have been entrusted. They must keep their “cool” even when the vast, infinite cry of the money changers reaches a fevered pitch, the economic seas are blue-black and the clouds in the financial markets are red as blood and tongues of fire. Presenting an image comparable to that of the visage depicted by Edvard Munch – of policymakers trembling with anguish at the daunting demands of their profession – would provide scant comfort to those who depend upon them to maintain their composure and skate ably across a cold and foreboding economic landscape, seeking to guide the economy to a better place. Central banks are just one vehicle for influencing overall macroeconomic behavior, in addition to influencing through regulation the microeconomic agents that transmit that influence to the markets – banks of deposit and other financial institutions. We work alongside another potent macroeconomic lever: fiscal authorities – governments that have the power to tax the people’s money, spend it in ways they deem appropriate, and create laws and regulations that influence microeconomic behavior. Unless fiscal authorities can structure their affairs to incent the private sector into putting the cheap and ample money the Fed has provided to the economy to work in job creation, monetary policy will prove impotent.

All supervisory authorities in the Kingdom, including SAMA, continued their efforts in performing periodical inspections in the area of anti-money laundering over entities under their supervision in accordance with the concept of the risk ratio standard to increase efficiency of control and supervision operations and benefit from the capabilities available in various fields to ensure the application of instructions and regulations. Dear Audience, Bearing in mind the risks posed to our economy by Money Laundering and emphasizing its supervisory and control role, SAMA issues continuous instructions and updates regulations and guidelines to cope with domestic, regional and international developments. We stress here the necessity of compliance with regulations, standards and instructions related to Anti-Money Laundering; the implementation of policies to monitor operations; and reporting Money Laundering activities to thwart any attempts aimed at abusing banks and money-changers operating in the Kingdom as channels to pass illegal transactions. Dear Audience, The positive results achieved by the Kingdom are an incentive and impetus to all of us to keep on executing development plans and work continuously to combat Money Laundering crimes, safeguarding the soundness of our national economy with all its financial and non-financial sectors against adverse impacts. The Kingdom will not hesitate to undertake all measures and means to attain the highest levels of quality and to meet International Anti-Money Laundering standards. I would like reiterate the importance of cooperation among relevant domestic, regional and international entities, intensifying efforts and exchanging technical information and expertise to detect, monitor and pinpoint Money Laundering operations.