Saudi central bank assets fall to 1,913.86 billion riyals in September

Summary

• SAMA total assets dropped to 1,913.86 billion riyals in September 2026, according to its monthly statistical bulletin.
• The decline reached 27.1 billion riyals from August and 17.45 billion riyals from September 2025.
• A year-on-year drawdown signals the gap between oil revenue and government spending is widening.

The latest

Total assets held by the Saudi Central Bank fell to 1,913.86 billion riyals in September 2026, a drop of 27.1 billion riyals in a single month, according to SAMA's monthly statistical bulletin. The same reading sits 17.45 billion riyals below September 2025, meaning the decline is not confined to one month but extends across a full year of comparison.

Details

• The headline figure: SAMA's monthly statistical bulletin put total assets at 1,913.86 billion riyals at the close of September 2026. That is the reference number the central bank itself publishes for its consolidated position, and it anchors every other comparison drawn from the release.
• The monthly move: Assets fell 27.1 billion riyals against August 2026, according to the bulletin. The month-on-month step is larger than the full-year change, meaning the September reading accounts for the bulk of the movement recorded in the comparison period rather than a slow, steady slide.
• The annual move: Measured against September 2025, assets are down about 17.45 billion riyals, per the same bulletin. The year-on-year direction matters more than any single month because it strips out routine timing effects in government deposits and settlement flows.
• What the bulletin covers: The monthly statistical bulletin is SAMA's own periodic publication of its aggregate position. The figures released for September 2026 set out the asset total and its changes against the prior month and the year-earlier month, which form the basis of the reported comparisons.
• Breakdown not specified: The release did not set out which asset components drove the decline, nor attribute the drawdown to a named cause. SAMA published no explanation alongside the figure and did not indicate whether the trend is expected to continue in coming months.
• The reporting source: Argaam reported the September figures, citing SAMA's monthly statistical bulletin, in a dispatch from Riyadh published on 29 October 2026. The report carried the asset total and the two comparison figures without additional commentary from the central bank.
• Why markets watch it: Central bank assets are among the most closely tracked indicators for fixed-income investors positioned in Saudi sovereign and quasi-sovereign paper, because the balance sheet reflects how much state spending is covered by current revenue rather than accumulated reserves.
• The policy relevance: For monetary decision-makers, the asset line is an early reading on fiscal pressure. A sustained drawdown typically precedes shifts in the funding mix, including heavier reliance on debt issuance, well before those shifts appear in budget statements.

Background

SAMA publishes its statistical bulletin monthly, giving analysts one of the few regular, official windows into the kingdom's aggregate financial position. The asset total is routinely read alongside oil revenue and government spending as a proxy for the pace at which reserves are drawn down.

Between the lines

The monthly drop of 27.1 billion riyals exceeds the 17.45 billion riyals recorded over the full year, which implies the earlier months of the comparison period included recovery rather than continuous decline. Analysts reading the series this way would treat September as the point where the trend sharpened, not the latest step in a uniform slide.

What's next

SAMA's next monthly statistical bulletin will show whether the September drop extended into October or proved a one-month move. Watch the asset line against any subsequent sovereign debt issuance for confirmation of a shifting funding mix.

Source: SAMA's monthly statistical bulletin