The Institute was first established by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency in 1964 under the name of “ Institute of Banking Training ” At that time, the institute provided only conventional academic education where the trainees, who were banking sector employees, were granted, after successfully passing the courses, a diploma in banking and financial studies. With the acceleration of the development of the banking business and the increasing introduction of advanced technologies in the banking sector, it became essential to change the Institute's goals and strategies to respond to such changes and to cope with the expectations of the leaders of the banking and financial sectors.

In 1989, SAMA established the present institute under the new name of “ The Institute of Banking''.

In 2015, the Institute of Banking has changed its name to the “Institute of Finance” with a new mission.