The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) has appointed Abdel Rahman al-Humaidi as deputy governor.

Al-Humaidi was previously technical affairs director since November 2004 and was responsible for bank inspections, economic research and insurance control.

His appointment follows the promotion of previous deputy governor Mohammad al-Jasser to the position of governor in February. King Abdullah officially made the appointment of al-Humaidi by royal decree on 30 August.

The appointment was not unexpected within Saudi Arabia as Sama tends to fill senior posts from within the organisation.

Sama reported on 25 August that its foreign assets declined for the eighth consecutive month to SR1.4trillion ($380bn) as the value of its foreign investments fell.