BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT: Total outstanding credit extended by ODCs (Other Depository Corporations) in Oman, comprising both conventional and Islamic banks grew by 6.3 percent to RO 30.0 billion at the end of April 2023, with credit to the private sector demonstrating an increase of 6.8 percent (Y-o-Y) to reach RO 25.2 billion, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) announced in its latest bulletin.
Non-financial corporations received the highest share of the total private sector credit at approximately 46.3 percent at end-April 2023, followed by household sector at 44.4 percent. The share of financial corporations was 5.6 percent while other sectors received the remaining 3.7 percent of total private sector credit as at end- April 2023.
Total deposits held with ODCs registered a Y-o-Y significant growth of 5.5 percent to reach RO 27.2 billion at the end of April 2023. Total private sector deposits increased by 3.7 percent to RO 17.9 billion. In terms of sector-wise composition of private sector deposits, the biggest contribution is from household deposits at 52.3 percent, followed by non-financial corporations at 28.2 percent, financial corporations at 16.6 percent and other sectors at 2.9 percent.
The combined balance sheet of conventional banks showed a Y-o-Y growth of 4.9 percent in total outstanding credit as of end-April 2023. Credit to the private sector increased by 4.9 percent to reach RO 24.4 billion while their overall investments in securities witnessed a decline by 15.4 percent to RO 4.4 billion at end- April 2023.
Investment in Government Development Bonds marginally decrease by 0.2 percent to RO 2.1 billion, while foreign securities increased by 8.5 percent to RO 0.9 billion, at the end of April 2023. On the liabilities side, aggregate deposits held with the conventional banks increased by 4.1 percent Y-o-Y to RO 22.2 billion at end-April 2023. Government deposits with conventional banks witnessed an increase of 10.0 percent at RO 5.5 billion, and deposits of public enterprises increased by 10 percent to RO 1.5 billion. On the other hand, private sector deposits, which accounted for 66.5 percent of total deposits with conventional banks, increased by 2.2 percent as of April 2023 to reach RO 14.7 billion.
The total assets of Islamic Banks and Windows increased by 9.8 percent on a Y-o-Y basis to RO 6.7 billion and constituted about 16.6 percent of the banking system's assets at end-April 2023. Islamic banking entities provided financing of RO 5.6 billion at the end of April 2023, recording a growth of 13.3 percent over that a year ago. Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows increased by 11.0 percent to RO 5.0 billion.
The overnight Rial Omani domestic inter-bank lending rate rose to 5.147 percent in April 2023 from 0.630 percent a year ago. This is an outcome of the increase in the average Repo rate for liquidity injection by the CBO to 5.500 percent from 0.500 percent a year ago, moving with US Federal Reserve.
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