Rule · SAMA · 28 Nov 2023

SAMA New Banking Products and Services Regulation

Banks must notify SAMA via email at least ten business days before launching new products, or seek non-objection for home loans, financial leases, and unregulated products. Launches must occur within twelve months of acknowledgment or non-objection; otherwise, a new notification or application is required. Banks must submit an annual inventory report signed by the CEO by March 1st and maintain comprehensive documentation of risk assessments and governance processes.

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Central Bank
Annotations and obligations
147 obligations · 1 permission · 21 definitions · 142 reporting items
  • Obligation 147
  • Permission 1
  • Definition / condition 21
  • Reporting template 142
  • background, boilerplate

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SAMA New Banking Products andServices Guideline2017 · SAMASAMA New Banking Products and Services Guideline (2017-10-08)SAMA New Banking Products andServices Regulation2023-11-28 · this documentSAMA New Banking Products and Services Regulation (2023-11-28)
amendssupersedesissued underrefers todashed card: not in RegAlert (or proposed)arrows run from the older text to the one that changes it
The links and the sentences they come from (1)
Supersedes
  • “Once effective, this regulation shall supersede the existing SAMA New Banking Products and Services Guidelines issued by circular No. 391000006163 in 18-01-1439H (08-10-2017G).”

Timeline

This document supersedes: SAMA New Banking Products and Services Guideline

What changed in the obligations

Against SAMA New Banking Products and Services Guideline (2017-10-08)

127 new obligations

3 obligations are the same in both texts.

New in this text (127)
  • Therefore, the risks posed by the introduction and/or modification of products and services must be identified, assessed, monitored and managed appropriately by the banks.
  • The banks must adhere to this regulation as minimum set of regulatory requirements.
  • 5.1.1 The Board has an oversight responsibility (2) to ensure that senior management develop and implement the detailed internal policiesand proceduresfor offering of new products and services.
  • 5.1.2 The Board is responsible for ensuring that product and service risks are well managed, and the needs and rights of consumers are appropriately addressed.
  • 5.1.3 The Board must review whether the offering of products and services by the bank remains consistent with the risk appetite approved by the board and internal policies and procedures for offering of new products and services.
  • 5.1.4 The Board must review and revise the bank’s risk appetite when the offering of products and services by the bank is no longer consistent with the approved risk appetite.
  • Any changes to the risk appetite must be justified and documented with detailed risk assessment, taking into consideration the risk management capabilities and risk bearing capacity of the bank.
  • The Board must also ensure that internal policies and procedures are updated by senior management accordingly following changes in risk appetite.
  • 5.2.1 Senior management are responsible for the design, implementation, and compliance of the bank’s new products and services with the Board approved internal policies and procedures for offering of new products and services.
  • 5.2.2 Senior management must ensure that offering of any new or existing products and services must fall within the scope of banking business as defined in the Banking Control Law.
  • 5.2.3 Senior management must ensure that that risks arising from new products and services are well understood and aligned to the bank’s risk appetite and tolerance level.
  • 5.2.4 Senior management has to determine whether the change to any product or service is considered to be a material change (3)
  • (2) The management function responsible for overseeing the operations of Foreign Bank Branch (FBB) are to ensure that policies and procedures for new products and services are consistent with the requirement of this regulation, and effectively implemented in its operations.
  • (3) Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), in coordination with the product or service developer, are responsible for determining whether the change to any product or service is considered to be a material change.
  • 5.2.5 Senior management must periodically review the appropriateness of the products and services internal policies and procedures and whether they continue to meet the objectives as set out in this regulation, and must propose to the Board that the policiesand procedures be amended if this is no longer the case.
  • 5.2.6 Senior management must identifyand mitigate potential negative effects on the bank's reputation either actual or perceived.
  • 5.2.7 Senior management must ensure that there are full operational readinessto support new products and services, including processes, controls and systems infrastructure and approvals from other authorities are obtained prior to offering new products and services, where relevant.
  • Banks are required to have in place an internal policies and procedures that set out the oversight and governance arrangements for the offering of new products and services.
  • These internal policies and procedures must at minimum satisfythe following:
  • 6.1.1 To be integrated as part of the bank’s governance, risk management and internal control framework.
  • 6.1.2 Defining the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders including the Board and all control functions involved in developing and launching new products and services.
  • 6.1.3 Defining parameters for the authority which approves new products and services including the circumstances under which such authority may be delegated.
  • 6.1.4 Defining the requirements to have a pilot or testing phase for new products and services.
  • A bank is required to assess the effect of a product and service on target market before its commercial launch and take appropriate changes where scenario analysis shows adverse results for the target market.
  • 6.1.5 Consumer protection requirements including the bank’s standards for management of customer suitability and mis-selling risks along with a requirement to conduct annual assessment of all products and services against such established standards.
  • 6.1.6 The internal policies and procedures must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis or when it’s needed, ideally on an annual basis, and at least once every (3) years.
  • 6.1.7 The policiesand proceduresmust be communicated by the bank in a timelymanner to all relevant partsand levels within the organization, and to ensure that the new product and service offering are fully integrated throughout a bank’s line functions.
  • When developing products and services internal policies and procedures, banks must consider the following:
  • 6.2.1 Designingand bringing to the market products and services with features, charges and risks that meet the interests, objectives and characteristics of, and are of benefit to the market segment identified for the products and services.
  • In this regard, a formal customer appropriateness and customer fairness assessment must form part of bank’s processes before approval of new products and services.
  • 6.2.2 The products and services offered to customers are fair and suitable.
  • 6.2.3 Avoid any conflicts of interest, potential for mis-selling, terms and conditions that are inherently unfair to consumers, and business practices that restrict the freedom of choice to consumers.
  • 6.2.4 To be proportionate to the nature, scale, risk, and complexity of a bank’s products and services, and designed to identify and control product risk across the value chain, including at minimum the stages of product development, authorization and governance, price, marketing, sale and distribution.
  • 6.2.5 The gradual commercial launch of any new product and service taking into consideration the market segment, riskiness and complexity of the product and service.
  • 6.3.2 Banks must conduct a full risk assessment of new products and services which form the basis on whether or not to introduce them to the market taking into account reviewing all the associated risk throughout the life cycle of the products and services.
  • 6.3.3 Banks must haverisk management standards for developing and launching any new products and services to the market.
  • These include, inter alia, adequate due diligence and approvals, procedures to identify, measure, monitor, report, and mitigate risks, effective change management processes and technologies, ongoing performance monitoring and review mechanisms.
  • 6.3.4 Banks must have risk classification process for each product and service that the bank intend to launch.
  • The classification process must result with an overall risk classification for the product or service (for example: high, medium or low risk).
  • 6.3.5 Banks must have a risk management, controls and monitoring processes in respect of third party risks management, where the bank’s products and services are offered in partnership with Fintech companies, agents or similar entities.
  • 6.3.6 The risk management function must have internal organizational and operational capacity i.e. effective controls, monitoring and reporting systems and procedures in place, to monitor and manage potential risks of the proposed new products and services poses to the bank's own financial health, as well as to the financial well-being of the customers and overall market stability.
  • 6.3.7 The risk management function must document, review and approve risk profile(associated risks) of new products and services before its launch.
  • Risk profile of the new products and services must include at least detailed description of all associated risks i.e. identification, quantification (if possible), assessment, classification and its mitigation plan.
  • 6.3.8 The risk management function must perform comprehensive fraud risk assessment covering fraudulent events across different channels and assessment of prevention, detection, and investigation capabilities from people, process and technology perspective taking into consideration emerging technologies.
  • The risk assessment must also include evaluation of all possible scenarios and dynamic fraud techniques such as social engineering, phishing. that ensures safety and soundness of the bank against dynamic fraudulent scenarios.
  • In addition, the bank must enforce defense in depth mechanism in their environment to ensure deep protection for the customers such as using multichannel technique to ensure customer identity and confirmation of the financial service/transaction for example: registration and activation/approval of services from different channels whenever applicable.
  • 6.3.9 The risk management function must conduct comprehensive risk assessment which cover cyber resilience and data privacy including evaluating threats, vulnerabilities and weaknesses needed to be analyzed for potential impact on the bank that leads to improve member organizations cyber posture.
  • 6.3.10 The risk management function must assure that its people, systems and processes have the ability to adequately capture and report risks and financial commitments relating to its new products and services in a timely manner.
  • 6.3.11 The risk management function must assure that all material risks posed bythe introduction of new products and services or by the modification of existing products and services are identified, assessed, monitored and managed appropriately; and must be regularly reviewed in light of the changing market conditions not previously factored.
  • 6.3.12 The risk management function must assess how new products and services will affect the bank's current and projected financial and capital positions.
  • The compliance function must ensure the following:
  • 6.4.3 Identify the risks of non-compliance that might arise from products and services, set plans to manage it, and evaluate these risks at least once annually.
  • 6.4.4 Report to the Board at least once annually the risks of non-compliance and how it would be mitigated.
  • 6.4.5 The compliance function must be the main contact point for liaison for submission of all applications for non-objection to introduce new products and servicesand to notify SAMA of any products and services in cases where non-objection is not required.
  • The internal audit function must ensure the following:
  • 6.5.1 Timely identification of internal control weaknesses, adherence to regulatory requirements and products and services policies and procedures.
  • 6.5.2 To auditall new products and services in a reasonable time i.e. within one year after launching the product or service depending on the nature, type, complexity, and riskiness of the new products and services.
  • 6.5.3 Report to the Audit Committee the results of the audit process that was conducted on the bank’s products and services at least once annually.
  • In case, products and services associated risks increase or violating any rules and regulations issued by SAMA and all other relevant regulators, the internal audit must include them in theiryearly audit plan.
  • The product development function (business units) must ensure the following:

The first 60 of 127 are shown.

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Source: Saudi Central Bank — original document · Summary generated with machine assistance and reviewed before publication; the authoritative text is the regulator's original document. How RegAlert works

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