Central bank chief says Saudi Arabia to keep oil price stable

Saudi Arabia’s central bank chief said on Friday that his country would offer excess oil production capacity if needed to balance oil prices, and that he expected prices to stay stable.

Brent crude held above $111 on Friday, partly supported by the prospect of fresh sanctions being imposed on Iranian crude early next week, which could increase demand for oil from other markets.

“If there is pressure on demand, Saudi Arabia will always offer excess capacity to bring balance to supply and demand and to balance prices throughout,” central bank head Fahad al-Mubarak said.

Mubarak was speaking to a news conference at the inaugural meeting of the Financial Stability Board’s regional consultative group for the Middle East and North Africa. The FSB is a global body handling financial regulation.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Monday the world’s top oil exporter can pump more oil at a moment's notice, the day after Iran warned Gulf oil producers not to compensate for any disruption to Iranian output.

He identified $100 a barrel as an ideal oil price for Riyadh.

Mubarak reiterated that the balance sheets of Saudi commercial banks were very strong and that they had only very limited exposure to Europe. Saudi Arabia will continue to ensure its banks are well-regulated, he added.

“Saudi banks are complying with Basel II, as a matter of fact they are already complying in most of the bank ratios of liquidity and capital adequacy of Basel III. The system of banks in Saudi Arabia was a very strong one well before I became governor.”

He added, “My role is to continue prudent macro measures to make sure the banks continue to be well-regulated and follow all required rules as well as serving their purpose in the economy.”

Mubarak, formerly chairman of Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, was appointed governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency last month, succeeding Muhammad al-Jasser, who had held the post for nearly three years.

Kuwait Central Bank Governor Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz al-Sabah told the same news conference in the United Arab Emirates that Kuwaiti banks had an average capital adequacy ratio of almost 19 percent, above a minimum of 12 percent required by Basel II.

“We are experiencing ... a huge level of liquidity and the central bank of Kuwait had absorbed almost all surplus funds from the system to reduce any kind of negative impacts,” Sheikh Salem said.

“Plus provisions in the banking system are much more than the central bank requested and concerning what is happening in Europe, Kuwaiti banks ... are not that much exposed to European sovereign debts,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund said in July, following regular consultations with Kuwait, that a further deterioration in the balance sheets of investment companies or delays in their restructuring could result in higher banking-sector provisions.

Mubarak also said he was not aware of any discussions on the idea of Saudi Arabia contributing more resources to the IMF as part of efforts to address the European sovereign debt crisis and stabilize the global financial system.

The IMF is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to help countries deal with the fallout of the euro zone debt crisis.

With huge foreign exchange reserves, the Gulf's Arab oil exporters might be expected to contribute to any multilateral effort to strengthen the IMF.

Asked about this, Mubarak said: “Saudi Arabia is a member of the IMF and the programs continue to be discussed, but I don’t know if there is any specific discussion related to the European fund. I am not aware of any discussion at this stage.”

Sheikh Salem told the news conference: “The same is applicable to Kuwait. Nothing to my knowledge so far that Kuwait has been approached.”

On Thursday, Oman’s central bank chief Hamood Sangour al-Zadjali told Reuters that his country would raise its very small contribution to the IMF.