Ayman M Al-Sayari: Speech - International Financial Architecture (IFA) Session
•February 9, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Saudi Central Bank
Why It Matters
Unchecked debt and opaque non‑bank activities threaten financial stability, especially in emerging markets, making G20 leadership crucial for global economic resilience.
Key Takeaways
- •Global debt at historic highs, stressing vulnerable economies
- •Debt financing must prioritize infrastructure, education, digital networks
- •Non‑bank financial intermediaries pose emerging systemic risks
- •Data gaps hinder monitoring of cross‑border financial exposures
- •G20 urged to lead transparency and surveillance reforms
Pulse Analysis
The surge in sovereign debt, now at unprecedented levels, reflects a confluence of pandemic recovery, geopolitical tensions and rising interest rates. While debt can fund essential projects, many emerging economies face soaring financing costs that crowd out health and education spending. This fiscal strain not only hampers growth but also raises intergenerational equity concerns, as future cohorts inherit heavier repayment burdens. Policymakers therefore must balance borrowing with strategic allocation to ensure debt serves as a development engine rather than a fiscal albatross.
Parallel to the debt challenge, non‑bank financial intermediaries (NBFIs) have expanded their footprint across credit markets, shadow banking and fintech ecosystems. Their rapid growth outpaces existing regulatory frameworks, creating opacity around leverage, liquidity and cross‑border exposures. Without comprehensive, high‑frequency data on positions by instrument and currency, supervisors struggle to detect contagion pathways. Strengthening data collection and integrating off‑balance‑sheet activities into a unified exposure map are essential steps to mitigate systemic shocks emanating from this sector.
The G20, as the premier forum for coordinated macro‑financial policy, is uniquely positioned to drive reforms. By championing enhanced transparency standards, harmonizing surveillance tools and updating safeguards for capital‑flow volatility, the G20 can bolster resilience for vulnerable economies. Such leadership not only stabilizes global financial architecture but also supports sustainable development goals, ensuring that borrowed resources translate into long‑term human capital and infrastructure gains. The convergence of debt sustainability, NBFI oversight, and coordinated international action will define the next decade of financial stability.
Ayman M Al-Sayari: Speech - International Financial Architecture (IFA) Session
Ayman M Al‑Sayari: Speech – International Financial Architecture (IFA) Session
Speech by His Excellency Mr Ayman Al‑Sayari, Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, at the International Financial Architecture (IFA) Session during the 4th G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBGs) Meeting, Washington DC, 15 October 2025.
Author: Ayman M Al‑Sayari
Our discussions today come at an important time for the global economy. Rising debt vulnerabilities, volatile capital flows, and the growing role of the non‑bank financial intermediaries are reshaping how we think about financial stability and sustainable development.
Currently, global debt stands at historic highs, reflecting years of overlapping shocks, elevated interest rates, and tightening fiscal space. For many low‑income and vulnerable economies, rising financing costs and limited fiscal capacity are straining budgets, crowding out social investment, and stifling growth.
Yet when managed prudently, debt is not a burden; it can finance infrastructure, education, and digital networks that create opportunity. The challenge is not debt itself, but how it is governed and deployed.
Ultimately, debt policy is not only financial, it is moral. At its heart lies fairness across generations. Borrowing should build the future, not mortgage it. When debt finances human capital and transformation, it multiplies opportunity; when it sustains inefficiency, it deepens inequality. Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education, a human, not only fiscal, suffering.
However, debt challenges cannot be addressed in isolation. It is closely linked to the resilience of capital flows, which remain a lifeline for emerging‑market economies. The G20 plays a critical role in strengthening the resilience of capital flows—an issue of particular importance for emerging‑market economies. Yet, as global markets evolve, our existing safeguards must evolve with them.
A resilient financial system, however, depends on understanding where new risks are emerging. NBFIs are now central to global finance, but their growing importance also brings systemic risks. Unchecked vulnerabilities can amplify shocks and undermine stability.
We have a solid foundation through bank regulation, IMF reserve guidance, and FSB work on non‑bank financial intermediation. But these frameworks were not designed for the scale and cross‑border complexity of today’s non‑bank sector.
Our priority must be to close key data gaps—especially high‑frequency positions by instrument and currency—and build an integrated exposure map that captures balance‑sheet, off‑balance‑sheet, and derivatives data.
The G20 should therefore lead in advancing transparency, strengthening surveillance, and ensuring that global financial resilience evolves in step with today’s markets.
Thank you.
The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.
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