Saudi Arabia's banks are getting prepared for the transition to a less oil-dependent economy. 

As Saudi Arabia moves towards its Vision 2030 goals, the business community remains optimistic that reform is inevitable, if slower than hoped.

Saudi Arabia’s economy is changing as taxes on expat workers fuel an exodus, while the relaxation of driving rules is giving women more employment opportunities. Together with developing sectors such as entertainment and home ownership, this is providing local banks with plenty of opportunities, as James King reports.

Saudi Arabia is undergoing vast social and economic reforms, aimed at reducing its dependence on oil, providing employment for women and the young, and emerging as a regional capital markets hub. James King looks at the progress being made so far.

A key component of Saudi Arabia's wide-ranging reforms include modernising the economy, and the Capital Market Authority, led by Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, is in the forefront of driving this change. James King reports.

As Saudi Arabia pushes on with reforms designed to make it a regional investment powerhouse, Ibrahim AlOmar, governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, talks to James King about the part the licensing body will play. 

Only Al Rajhi Bank has reported a rise in profits among Saudi’s banks. Now the country's government is hoping its National Transformation Plan will bring the reforms necessary to inject new life into a stagnating economy. James King reports.

Despite low oil prices and flat economic growth, Saudi Arabia’s banks have remained active and stand in a strong position compared with their regional peers. James King reports.

Saudi Arabia's blueprint for the future, Vision 2030, aims to diversify the economy and cement the country's status as a Middle Eastern powerhouse. But the reforms necessary to modernise the country and attract investment will bring challenges as well as opportunities, as James King reports.

In line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 blueprint to diversify the country’s economy away from oil, its capital markets are being liberalised and broadened to include regional and foreign investors. James King reports.