Alinma Bank develops contingency plan to control coronavirus

Alinma Bank developed a contingency plan and formed an emergency committee a few weeks ago, CEO Abdulmohsen Al-Fares, told Al-Arabiya TV adding that several scenarios were developed to combat spread of the coronavirus, including branches closure.

Almost 98% of Alinma’s services are performed online, including money transfers locally and overseas. Alinma has more than 1,500 ATMs across the Kingdom, Al-Fares said.

Moreover, 72 branches for women were closed, while the number of branches for men was reduced to 51 across the Kingdom, he concluded.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) launched earlier an SAR 50 billion financing package to support the private sector, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and mitigate the potential economic impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

SMEs will be granted concessional loans of up to SAR 13.2 billion from banks and finance institutions to maintain their operations, contribute to economic growth and maintain employment rates at these facilities.

Banks and finance institutions will use a funding of up to SAR 6 billion to exempt SMEs from the costs of a loan guarantee program. The funding aims to reduce lending costs for beneficiaries throughout 2020.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s government also launched SAR 120 billion initiatives to implement urgent measures to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the Kingdom’s economic activities, including the private sector.