Council news

Gulf Monetary Council held its 56th board meeting

MoU Signed Between Gulf Monetary Council and GCC General Secretariat

On Tuesday, April 19, 2022, the Gulf Monetary Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Gulf Monetary Council was represented by its president, Dr. Atef bin Saleh Al-Rashidi, while the GCC General Secretariat was represented by the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Development Affairs Mr. Khalifa Bin Saeed Al-Abri.

The MoU included several aspects of cooperation and ways to enhancing GCC joint work between the two sides. The MoU signed is based on the decision of GCC Supreme Council (36th Session, Riyadh) to adopt the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in cementing GCC joint work.

Gulf Monetary Council held its 55th board meeting

Workshop "Transition from LIBOR & reviewing interest rates benchmarks (IBORs)"

The Gulf Monetary Council (GMCo) in cooperation with the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) held a virtual workshop on <<Transition from LIBOR & reviewing interest rates benchmarks (IBORs)>> during 29-30 November 2021. The workshop hosted more than 50 Participants from representatives of natioal central banks in GCC countries and international financial institutions, where the workshop aimed to discuss technical developments and exchange experiences between natioanl central banks in GCC countries together with purpose of benefiting from the experiences of international working groups in this field in line with the global trend towards LIBOR transition.

The workshop also allowed the participants to view the recent developments related to LIBOR transition at regional and global level, reviewing the interbank offered rates in the local markets as efforts to adopt risk-free interest rates, and determining the impact of this transition on monetary and financial stability in the GCC countries.

The workshop addressed a number of technical topics, starting with the principles and frameworks applied for the transition including the financial, legal and accounting aspects, as well as a review of recent developments and other technical topics. The workshop was attended by GMCo, GCC central banks, the working group under Central Bank of England, the UK Financial Supervisory Authority and the European Financial Markets Authority.

GMCO is keen to continue holding meetings and workshops in pursue of monetary stability in GCC countries.

The Board of Directors appoints the Governor of Qatar Central Bank as Chairman

The Board of Directors held its fifty-fourth meeting on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, corresponding to Rabi’ al-Akhir 19, 1443, at Monetary Council premises in Riyadh city. The board meeting was attended by their Excellencies the Governors of national central banks in member countries. During the meeting, His Excellency Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani was selected as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and His Excellency Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Almubarak as Vice Chairman , for the next term as of January 1, 2022 and for a period of one year. The Board resolution came in implementation of Article (9) of the Statute, which states that <<The Board of Directors shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson among its members for a one-year office.>>

His Excellency Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani is currently the Governor of the Qatar Central Bank, as well as His Excellency Dr. Fahad bin Abdullah Almubarak, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank. Accordingly, the Gulf Monetary Council wishes all success to the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in the next term . The Monetary Council also thanks the former Chairman of its Board, His Excellency Dr. Mohammad bin Yousef Al-Hashel, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, for his efforts and wise management during the previous term.