History

SIMAH began its journey

Started operations in 2004, Saudi Credit Bureau (SIMAH) is the first national credit bureau in Saudi Arabia under the supervision of the Saudi central bank.

Different Perspective

The outburst of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 was the reason behind the emergence of the idea regarding establishing a credit rating agency (Tassnief) that threatened the collapse of large financial institutions and the drop of the stock market around the world.

Additionally, Simah has a different perspective regarding the necessity of credit rating agencies within the Kingdom. Their expertise significantly determines credit worthiness, which becomes essential in a growing financial market.

Discussions

In 2009, SIMAH took a bold step to establish the first credit rating agency in the Kingdom. Several meetings and discussions were held with authorities including CMA and SAMA.

Draft Regulation

December 2012, the CMA published the draft regulation for the credit rating agencies that was aimed at developing the first step of the whole process in establishing the credit rating industry in the Kingdom. The draft regulation outlines the process of monitoring the conduct of rating activities in the Kingdom as well as the procedures and conditions for obtaining an authorization to conduct rating activities.

Approval

In November 2014, Credit Rating Agencies’ regulations were approved by the CMA as per article No. 3-54-2014; due to the increasing need of business sector to improve related credit mechanisms.

Proposal

SIMAH submitted a proposal to the CMA to establish SIMAH Rating Agency “Tassnief”

Establishment

Approval to establish SIMAH Rating Agency was granted from the CMA License No.: 08-15001 in January 7th, 2016 as the first Licensed Saudi Rating Agency to deliver our services in credit rating.