Bank lending in Oman grows 4.9% in September

Published 14 Nov,2021 via Muscat Daily–Bank lending in Oman has shown signs of revival in past few months and credit growth has further increased in September, the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) data showed.

Oman’s bank loan growth picked up in September 2021 to 4.9 per cent, signaling that the sultanate’s economic recovery is continuing into the fourth quarter of this year.

Total outstanding credit extended by Oman’s banking sector grew by 4.9 per cent year-on-year to reach RO27.7bn at the end of September 2021, according to the CBO data published by Oman News Agency.

Credit growth in Oman had dropped below 2 per cent last year after the dual shock of the coronavirus crisis and oil price collapse hit the economy hard.

Bank lending to the private sector also showed an improved growth of 2.6 per cent as of September this year compared to less than 1 per cent recorded in the first half of 2021, the central bank’s data showed.

The shares of non-financial corporate sector and household sector (mainly personal loans) in total private sector credit stood at 46.4 per cent and 45.2 per cent, respectively, at the end of September 2021. The share of financial corporations was 4.9 per cent and other sectors received the remaining 3.5 per cent of total private sector credit.

On the deposits side, the CBO data indicated that total deposits held with the Omani banks (conventional and Islamic) registered an year-on-year growth of 2.7 per cent to reach RO25bn at the end of September 2021.

Total private sector deposits increased by 5.2 per cent to RO17.2bn in September compared to the year ago period. In terms of sector-wise composition of private sector deposits, the biggest share goes to household deposits at 51.5 per cent, followed by non-financial corporations at 32.4 per cent, financial corporations at 13.7 per cent and the other sectors at 2.4 per cent.

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