international financial reporting standards, and that two firms of external auditors are to conduct an annual audit. furthermore, sama has required banks in saudi arabia to meet the corporate governance guidance emanating from the basle committee on banking supervision and more recently from the islamic financial services board. in this regard, i should mention that sama is participating in the ifsb technical committee and in various working groups that are developing standards of corporate governance for shari'ah compliant financial institutions. the leadership role played by sama, over the past decades, in promulgating corporate governance standards and in promoting a governance culture has been reflected in the emergence of strong financial institutions and a credible banking system. thanks to these efforts, the institutions and the system have remained stable and steady, despite global economic crises and oil price volatilities. dear audience, we should not rest on these past successes. we must remain vigilant and continue to monitor changes in regional and global markets. we must continuously ensure adopting and implementing best international standards and principles. in this context, i wish to draw to your attention that sama is currently directing the banks in the kingdom towards the adoption of basle ii capital adequacy standard by 1st january 2008. i expect all banks to easily meet the required capital requirements ; and this will be positively reflected on fostering the risk management and corporate governance culture that is deemed essential for meeting the challenges of the forthcoming stage. in conclusion, i wish you a good stay in the kingdom, and wish all success to your conference. thank you for your attention.

with the size and nature of the work, investment policy, compliance with the financial solvency standards, and allocations of necessary technical provisions to ensure health and soundness of the companies ’ financial positions. it is imperative that the insurance industry remains competitive by developing and providing insurance products and services to the satisfaction of customers at all times. dear audience, we expect the insurance industry to continue to improve its performance and achieve balanced growth in accordance with corporate objectives and available resources. we also anticipate the industry to meet the needs of the market and beneficiaries to increase their confidence in the insurance activities. it is important that insurance companies strike a balance between the size of business and geographic expansion, and human and financial resources and operating infrastructure. i would like to conclude the speech by emphasizing the importance of the insurance sector with respect to employment and training of male and female citizens through paying more attention to the development of human resources and training policies and increasing saudization. sama has designed a compulsory exam on the basics of insurance activities to measure employees ’ competence and insurance providers ’ awareness of insurance fundamentals including laws, regulations and standards. companies are required to organize vocational and technical development programs to raise insurance awareness and help provide qualified manpower to serve the insurance sector and the country well. thank you for your attention. i wish you all a successful symposium. bis central bankers ’ speeches