SAMA fines Samba for a technical glitch in systems

Samba Financial Group was fined by Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the Kingdom’s central bank, for its failure to abide by the required operational standards relating to information technology infrastructure and business continuity.

Fine and administrative sanctions were imposed on Samba, which was ordered to take corrective action to avoid potential technical faults going forward, SAMA said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The value of the fines was not disclosed.

The central bank had sent inspectors to the bank to investigate reasons for the technical glitch and ensure the safety of customer data.

Last March, Samba said that a technical issue had compromised the systems serving branches, disrupting Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and online banking services for a few days.