The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has announced that it will use Bloomberg’s Auction System from January 2022 to conduct repo, reverse repo, and Open Market Operations (OMO) with locally operating banks.
SAMA had announced in 2018 the completion of the development of the SAMA Bills and Murabaha issuance system using Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s Auction System is a part of Bloomberg’s enterprise solution for central banks and government financial agencies.
It is reportedly used to perform auction tenders electronically, and by market participants to track these auctions and enter bids.
The system apparently provides a safe and secure environment to issue debt and buy back debt, and perform other open market operations including repo and reverse repo auctions, all from a single integrated solution.
It is said to be fully integrated with the data, news, analytics and communications tools available on the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg’s Auction System is used in more than 30 countries globally.
Official sources quoted Ayman Alsayari, Vice-Governor of SAMA, as saying: “This collaboration with Bloomberg marks the next stage in developing the central bank’s operations.”
He added: “The increased efficiency of liquidity management operations will have a positive impact on the banking sector. It also aligns with international best practice in liquidity management through electronic trading.”
Nicholas Bean, Global Head of Electronic Trading Solutions at Bloomberg, said: “We are delighted by this ongoing collaboration with SAMA to further support the electronification of its markets.”