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 RO18.6 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.