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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

3.1 per cent growth in banking sector credit in December 2019

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Total outstanding credit extended by conventional and Islamic banks in the Sultanate amounted to RO 25.8 billion at the end of December 2019, entailing a 3.1 per cent increase over the corresponding figure recorded a year earlier, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said.


In a review of banking sector developments during December 2019, the apex bank noted Credit to the private sector increased by 2.8 per cent to RO 22.7 billion. Of the total credit to the private sector, the non-financial corporate sector and the household sector (mainly under personal loans) received almost equal shares of 45.7 per cent and 45.5 per cent, respectively, the financial corporations with 5.4 per cent and other sectors with the remaining 3.4 per cent.


“The activities of other depository corporations (conventional and Islamic banks) provide a complete picture of the financial intermediation through banking sector in Oman,” the CBO report stated.


Total deposits held with ODCs registered a growth of 1.7 per cent and stood at RO 23.7 billion at the end of December 2019. Private sector deposits increased by 6.2 per cent to RO 15.2 billion. Sector-wise, the share of households was 49.1 per cent in the total private sector deposit, followed by non-financial corporations at 31.5 per cent, financial corporations at 17.1 per cent and the other sectors at 2.3 per cent.


The combined balance sheet of conventional banks denotes an annual growth of 1.8 per cent in total outstanding credit as on end-December 2019. Conventional banks’ credit to the private sector increased by 1 per cent and stood at about RO 18.9 billion, the Central Bank stated.


Conventional banks’ overall investments in securities amounted to RO 3.6 billion at the end of December 2019. Investment in Government Development Bonds and Government Sukuk increased by 13.5 per cent over the year to RO 1.6 billion. Banks also invested RO 294.8 million in Government Treasury Bills, while their investments in foreign securities stood at RO 1.1 billion at the end of December 2019. Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks increased to RO 20.1 billion in December 2019, registering a marginal growth of 0.3 per cent over the level a year ago.


Government deposits with conventional banks increased by 0.7 per cent to RO 5.4 billion, while deposits of public enterprises decreased by 27.5 per cent to RO 1.3 billion. Private sector deposits, which accounted for 65 per cent of total deposits with conventional banks, increased by 3.9 per cent to RO 13 billion.


Islamic banking entities provided financing to the extent of about RO 4 billion at the end of


December 2019, recording a growth of 11 per cent over that a year ago. Total deposits held with


Islamic banks and windows also increased by 10.3 per cent to RO 3.6 billion. The total assets of Islamic banks and Windows stood at RO 4.9 billion as on end-December 2019 and constituted about 13.9 per cent of the banking system assets.


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