Highlights

Omani banks achieve 5.9 per cent growth in credit at OMR23b

Omani banks, including Islamic institutions, achieved a year-on-year growth of 5.9 per cent in total credit at OMR23 billion by August-end this year.

Credit to the private sector alone grew by 6.4 per cent to OMR20.8 billion as of the end of August 2017, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) said in its latest monthly report released on Tuesday.
Of the total credit extended to the private sector, the household sector (mainly under personal loans) stood at 46.9 per cent, closely followed by the non-financial corporate sector at 44.7 per cent, while financial corporations and other sectors contributed 5.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.
Total deposits registered a growth of 4.5 per cent to OMR21.6 billion, with private sector deposits growing by 5.6 per cent to OMR13.8 billion by August-end 2017. Sector-wise, the contribution of households to total private sector deposits was 48.4 per cent, followed by non-financial institutions at 29.1 per cent, financial institutions at 19.7 per cent, and other sectors at 2.8 per cent.

Credit to the private sector on the rise
Also, conventional banks achieved an annual growth in total credit of 3.2 per cent by August-end, mainly due to credit to the private sector increasing by 4.4 per cent to OMR18.1 billion. Conventional banks’ overall investments in securities grew by 1.2 per cent to OMR2.9 billion. Investment in government treasury bills stood at OMR437.3 million as of the end of August 2017.Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks increased moderately by 0.7 per cent to OMR18.8 billion in August 2017, from OMR18.7 billion for the same period a year ago.Besides, Islamic banks provided financing to the extent of OMR2.9 billion as of the end of August, compared with OMR2.2 billion a year ago. Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also registered a significant increase to OMR2.8 billion in August 2017, from OMR2 billion as of the end of August 2016. The total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined, amounted to OMR3.6 billion as of the end of August 2017, constituting about 11.7 per cent of the banking system’s assets.

Average annual inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Sultanate during January to July 2017 rose to 1.8 per cent, mainly due to a rise in transport costs, education, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, tobacco and energy prices, noted the central bank report. The average price of Omani crude oil during the January to July period stood at $51.6 per barrel.