CME-1B Exam Content: The 8 Chapters and Regulations Covered

Information last verified: 31 October 2026. Exam details and the regulations can change, so check the CME-1B exam page on the Financial Academy website and the official exam workbook before you start studying. This is an independent study guide. It is not affiliated with the Financial Academy, the Capital Market Authority, CISI or any government body.

CME-1B is the Saudi regulations exam in the CME-1 certificate. The questions are multiple choice and based on the texts of the Capital Market Law and the Authority's regulations. It has eight chapters, most questions ask what a particular article says or how two close concepts differ, and there are almost no calculations. The syllabus follows the official workbook (version 1.10, August 2026), which gives the article number next to every learning objective.

The exam at a glance

Fees, booking and retakes are in the registration guide, and the revision schedule is in the study plan. The CME-1 certificate is complete only when you pass both CME-1A and CME-1B.

The laws and regulations the exam is built on, and their versions

The workbook says the learning material is derived from the Capital Market Law and the implementing regulations issued by the Authority. These are the texts to study from, with the latest amendment we saw on 31 October 2026:

Study from the amended texts, not from old summaries. The Capital Market Institutions Regulations and the Offer Rules were amended in January 2026, and the article numbers of the Institutions Regulations that the workbook cites are unchanged in the 2026 text. The Anti-Money Laundering Law was amended in April 2026 (Umm Al-Qura Gazette), including articles the workbook cites, among them 14, 15, 16 and 28, so read the updated text for those articles.

The eight chapters and the questions in each

The workbook starts each objective with a verb: know means you recall the rule, definition or figure, and understand means you grasp the case and apply it. Chapter 6 also has an analyse objective, where you study examples to spot insider trading. The workbook says the number of questions per chapter can vary by plus or minus 2 from one paper to another.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Capital Market Authority (7 questions)

The securities the Capital Market Law covers (Article 2) and does not cover (Article 3), including instruments excluded from the definition and securities listed or traded outside the Kingdom (Article 26). Then the Authority's responsibilities and the methods it may use (Article 5) and the scope of its powers (Article 6). The role, governance structure and powers of the Exchange (Article 23), the Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes (Article 30), and the Securities Depository Center (Article 27), including what it does when its records contain an error or are in doubt. This chapter is definitions and names of bodies, and one focused read of the articles covers most of it.

Chapter 2: Securities Business Regulations (6 questions)

The seven securities-business definitions: dealing, dealing as agent, dealing as principal, arranging, managing, advising and custody (Article 2 and the Definitions). Then the exclusions from authorisation: activities within groups and joint enterprises (Article 8), exempt persons (Annex 1), activities in the course of non-securities business (Article 9), sale of goods and supply of services (Article 10), executors (Article 11) and sale of a company (Article 12). Finally the scope of regulation of securities advertisements (Articles 16 to 20). The difficulty is telling neighbouring definitions apart, so test each one on an example of your own.

Chapter 3: Authorisation (2 questions)

The information required in an authorisation application (Article 6 and Annex 3.1) and the minimum capital for each of five activities: advising, arranging, dealing, managing and custody. Then the institution's ongoing duty to remain fit and proper (Article 9). A small chapter, but the capital figures must be memorised exactly from the text of Article 6.

Chapter 4: Regulated Activities (13 questions)

The largest chapter at 26% of the exam, with seven topics drawn from several laws and regulations:

• Capital market institutions: the principles that state their fundamental obligations (Article 5), the fiduciary duties owed to customers (Article 40 and Annex 5.4), and the restrictions on dealing with customers in activities that involve risk (Article 42).
• Investment funds: the definition of an investment fund from the Glossary, how funds are established under the Investment Funds Regulations and the Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations, the types and classifications of funds, and the main related parties and their duties.
• Prospectus disclosures: what a prospectus must contain (Law, Article 42) and the submission requirements for an issuer offering to the public and for one already traded on the Exchange (Article 45).
• Ways of offering securities: exempt offers (Articles 3 and 6), private placement, public offer and Parallel Market offer (Article 3) in the Offer Rules.
• Issuer representatives and advisors: the duty to appoint representatives before the Authority (Article 18), and the role and duty of care of the financial advisor (Article 21) and the legal advisor (Article 22).
• Special purposes entities: the definition, the main purposes of setting one up, and the types of debt instruments it issues.
• Corporate governance: the rights of shareholders in listed companies (Article 5) and the rules on general assemblies (Articles 10, 11, 12 and 13).

Chapter 5: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (5 questions)

The acts that are money laundering offences (Article 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law). The preventive measures: risk assessment (Article 5), anonymous, fictitious or numbered accounts (Article 6), due diligence (Articles 7 and 11), prominent public functions (Article 8) and correspondent relationships (Article 9). Then ongoing monitoring (Articles 13 and 14), reporting suspicious activity (Articles 15 and 16) and sanctions for non-compliance (Articles 25 to 32). From the Law on Combating Terrorism Crimes and its Financing: risk assessment (Article 63), due diligence (Articles 64 and 66) and penalties (Article 83). Also the record-keeping rules (Article 12 of the first law and Article 65 of the second). Figures and time periods recur in this chapter, so memorise them together with the article number.

Chapter 6: Prohibitions (7 questions)

• Untrue statements and rumours: Market Conduct Regulations, Articles 7, 8 and 10, including when a person is liable for damages for an untrue statement.
• Market manipulation: the activities and practices treated as manipulative (Capital Market Law, Article 49).
• Insider trading: who counts as an insider, when information is inside information (Article 50), and analysing examples to identify insider trading.
• Sanctions: what the Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes may impose (Articles 59 and 62), the penalties and defences for misstating or omitting material facts (Article 56), and the penalty for brokerage without a licence (Article 60).

The questions are usually cases: someone learns a piece of news and then trades. For each case ask: is this person an insider, is the information inside information, and did it come before the announcement?

Chapter 7: Capital Market Institutions Regulations (6 questions)

The registrable functions (Article 19) and the requirements for performing them (Article 20). Then accepting clients: client classification (Article 36), applying client-acceptance obligations under the anti-money laundering rules (Article 37), terms of business (Article 38 and Annex 5.2), the minimum information for know your customer (Article 39 and Annex 5.3), and when client information may be disclosed more widely (Article 29). Then inducements and acceptable special commission arrangements (Articles 27 and 28), the factors for suitability (Article 43), client borrowing (Article 44) and margin (Article 45).

Chapter 8: Systems and Controls (4 questions)

Managing conflicts of interest (Article 41), how an effective Chinese wall works (Article 30), and the rules on employees' personal dealings (Article 50). Contract notes (Article 47 and Annex 5.5) and valuations (Article 48 and Annex 5.6). Client account records (Article 49) and recorded telephone calls (Article 51). Then the management arrangements in Articles 53 to 66: division of responsibilities, systems and controls, review by the governing body, compliance and its committee, outsourcing, audit, complaints, employees and business continuity.

How to split your revision time

You need 35 correct answers, so you can afford to miss 15 questions.

• Chapter 4 first: 13 questions on its own, and the widest chapter in topics. Give it the biggest share of your time.
• Chapters 1 and 6: 7 questions each. With Chapter 4 that makes 27 of 50 (54%).
• Chapters 2 and 7: 6 questions each. With the above that makes 39 questions.
• Chapter 5: 5 questions, with article numbers and time periods that you learn by repetition.
• Chapters 8 and 3: 4 questions and 2. Together they are 6 questions, but Chapter 3 needs an exact figure for each activity.

Do not drop a whole chapter: if you miss every question in Chapters 8 and 3 (6 questions), you have only 9 mistakes left for the rest of the exam. Because the exam tests texts and article numbers, reading alone is not enough. Read the article, then answer questions on it the same day.

Start here

Try the free practice test: 10 free questions with no registration, then see your score against the pass mark and which chapters are weakest. After that, practise in the question bank, starting with your weakest chapter. To go back to the exam page: CME-1B exam.