mortgages and personal loans. it can be concluded from the results that there is less knowledge of savings products than of debt or insurance products. shares and pension schemes are well known ( around 90 % have heard of them ), but only 73 % of interviewees have heard of savings accounts and term deposits and only 78 % of fixed income, while the percentage of those who have heard of life and medical insurance, credit cards, mortgages and personal loans is, in all instances, higher than or equal to 95 %. in the case of savings vehicles, moreover, significant differences are observed on the basis of educational level ( primary, secondary or university ) and the level of income which, generally, are less marked in the case of debt and insurance products. secondly, as regards whether interviewees have or have recently acquired any of these financial products, a notable 97 % have a current account, 43 % have some type of savings vehicle and 41 % have debt of some sort. the commonest saving product is the savings account, followed by pension schemes. once again differences are observed on the basis of educational level and level of income, more markedly so in the case of savings vehicles than in that of debt products. among the international patterns identified in respect of the holding of financial products, it is worth mentioning that while in spain holding a current account is more generalised than in the oecd and eu countries, holding savings products stands slightly below the average for these countries. it should be borne in mind, however, that the results on the comparison of the holding of savings products should be viewed with caution since the list of products considered as savings vehicles may vary from country to country. 4 / 7 as to the recent acquisition of financial products, the survey shows that 38 % have acquired some type of saving or insurance vehicle, a means of payment, or have incurred debt over the past two years. this percentage is lower than the average observed in the oecd countries ( 54 % ) and eu members ( 50 % ). the most frequently acquired product in spain is the credit card, followed by personal loans. here, too, there are significant differences in the acquisition of savings products based on educational level and on the level of income, which are less marked in the case of debt products. thus, in the case of interviewees with a university education, 32 % acquire savings products, while in the case of those with primary schooling, only 8 % acquire them. by level of income, 43 %

robust fundamentals of the saudi economy have prepared an appropriate environment for banks to adapt to successive, regional and international changes during the previous period. banks operating in the kingdom have been able to overcome the crises that hit other economies, and have been able to benefit from banks ’ experiences and modern banking technology. this is reflected in the diversity of banking services and products offered in the kingdom and their highly advanced level. currently, 15 banks are operating in the kingdom with a network of 1, 251 branches at the end of the first quarter of 2006, including the branches of gulf and foreign banks such as the gulf international bank, the emirates bank, bnp paribas and deutsche bank which was opened last week. in addition, licenses were granted to several gulf and foreign banks to open branches in the kingdom. also, the establishment of a saudi bank with a paid - up capital of rls 15 billion has been approved. preparations are currently underway on finalizing the procedures of its establishment under the name of “ bank alenma ”. on this occasion, i congratulate the nbk on the commencement of its operation in the kingdom, and i wish the bank and its staff good luck and success.