As part of the government's ongoing efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and further to the Private Sector Financing Support Program announced by SAMA on March 14, 2020 (reference Section (1) of the Deferred Payments Program for MSMEs), SAMA has decided to extend the Program for 3 months until December 14, 2020. The extension reflects SAMA's keenness to enable the financial sector to support the private sector's business continuity which, in turn, supports national economic growth and employment.

It is worth noting that the number of contracts of enterprises benefiting from the Deferred Payments Program since its launch on March 14, 2020 has reached 71,764, amounting to SAR 50.6 billion and exceeding the amoun   t of SAR 30 billion allocated for the program at the time of its launch. Contracts of finance companies have reached 1,123 with a value of SAR 5.2 billion. The number of contracts of medium enterprises has amounted to 26,023 with a value of SAR 32.8 billion. Contracts of small enterprises have reached 18,618 with a value of SAR 9.4 billion. In addition, contracts of micro-enterprises have reached 26,000 with a value amounting to SAR 3.1 billion.

Despite the challenges during this exceptional period, financial soundness indicators of the banking sector indicate that the sector is sufficiently resilient to support the private sector in various economic activities.