Credit disbursement of Omani banks grow
Credit to the private sector increased by 4.1 per cent to OMR18.6 billion while conventional banks’ overall investments in securities grew by 2.7 per cent to OMR3.2 billion
MUSCAT: A review of the activities of conventional banks indicates an annual growth in total outstanding credit disbursements of 6 per cent at the end of March 2018.
Credit to the private sector increased by 4.1 per cent to OMR18.6 billion. Conventional banks’ overall investments in securities grew by 2.7 per cent to OMR3.2 billion.
Investment in Government Treasury Bills stood at OMR429.8 million at the end of March 2018. Investment in government securities, inclusive of GDBs, Government Sukuk, and others stood at OMR1.4 billion. Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks increased by 0.6 per cent to OMR19.1 billion in March 2018, from OMR19 billion one year ago. Government deposits with conventional banks marginally declined by 0.3 per cent to OMR5.2 billion, while deposits of public enterprises increased by 3.4 per cent to OMR1 billion during the same period.
Private sector deposits, which accounted for 65.2 per cent of total deposits with conventional banks, marginally declined by 0.8 per cent to OMR12.5 billion in March 2018 from OMR12.6 billion one year ago. The core capital and reserves of conventional banks, as of the end of March 2018, stood at OMR 4.5 billion.
Islamic banks
Islamic banks provided financing of OMR3.2 billion, as of the end of March 2018, as compared to OMR2.6 billion one year ago. Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to OMR3.2 billion in March 2018, from OMR2.4 billion at the end of March 2017. The total assets of Islamic banks and Windows combined amounted to OMR4 billion at the end of March 2018, constituting about 12.4 per cent of the banking system’s assets.