Transformational leaders in Saudi Arabia

A review of the banking sector in Saudi Arabia demonstrates that there is high pressure on HR departments, managers and supervisors to retain qualified and expert bank employees due to the fast growth in the industry in Saudi Arabia. For almost 100 years, Saudi Arabia had just 11 banks. By 2004, they had 1,216 branches and 4,104 ATMs. But between 2005 and 2013, the Kingdom gained more than 12 new banks, both local and international, a figure that continues to grow. The number of commercial bank branches operating in the Kingdom increased to reach 1,768, with more than 13,883 ATMs in 2013, and the expansion is still ongoing (CDSI, 2013). The capital and reserves of commercial banks increased to reach 234.7 billion riyals in 2013 (SAMA, 2012; SAMA, 2013) All these developments increased the demand for banking employees, especially for experts.