NCSI: Gross loans and finance by commercial banks rise 6.4 per cent

MUSCAT: As per the statistics of the National Centre for Statistics and Information, the gross loans and finance provided by the commercial banks in the Sultanate grew by 6.4 per cent as of the end of 2017 to hit RO 23,550.4 million compared to RO 22,130.5 million as of the end of 2016.

The average interest rates on the loans grew by 4.4 per cent to about 5 per cent at the end of 2017 compared to 4.8 per cent during the same period in 2016.

The statistics pointed out that as of the end of December 2017, the domestic liquidity increased by 4.2 per cent to RO 16,068.8 million compared to RO 15,423.8 million at the end of December 2016.

The private sector deposits at the commercial banks and Islamic windows as of the end of December 2017 stood at RO 13,943.7 million; a growth by 5.2 per cent compared to RO 13,250.6 million at the end of December 2016.

The total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman declined by 20.6 per cent to RO 6,186.3 million compared to RO 7,791.0 million at the end of December 2016.

The circulated money declined by 0.6 per cent to stand at RO 1,637.5 million at the end of December 2017 compared to RO 1,647.1 million at the end of December 2016.

The narrow money supply — which includes money outside the banking system, the current accounts, the ondemand deposits in local currency, decreased by 0.8 per cent to RO 4,940.6 million at the end of December 2017 compared to RO 4,978.7 million at the end of December 2016. The actual exchange rate for the Omani Riyal declined by 6.6 per cent to 100.2 points at the end of December 2017 compared to 107.3 points at the end of December 2016. — ONA