Oman Economic Review – August 2018

O

man’s banking sector

continues to grow at a

reasonable rate and has

maintained its success in

meeting the credit needs of all economic

segments, with special emphasis on the

small and medium enterprise (SME)

sector, which has resulted in support

for economic activities including

diversification initiatives.

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO)

recently issued several regulatory

amendments to boost liquidity and

credit and to create an attractive

business environment to spur

economic growth. The combined

balance sheet of conventional

and Islamic banks and windows

(other depository corporations)

provides a complete overview of

the financial intermediation taking

place in the banking sector in Oman.

The total outstanding credit extended

by other depository corporations grew

by 7.7 per cent to RO24.1bn at the

end of April 2018 compared with the

previous year. Credit extended to the

private sector increased by 6.0 per cent

to RO21.5bn at the end of April, 45.

per cent of which was made available

to the household sector, while 46.1 per

cent was granted to the non-financial

corporate sector. Financial corporations

and other sectors obtained 4.9 per cent

and 3.5 per cent of the total amount of

credit, respectively.

Growth in deposits

Total deposits registered a growth of

2.3 per cent to RO22.0bn, with private

sector deposits growing by 1.8 per cent

to RO14.1bn at the end of April 2018.

Households accounted for 49.6 per cent

of total private sector deposits, followed

by non-financial corporations at 29.3 per

cent, financial corporations at 18.4 per

cent, and other sectors at 2.7 per cent.

A review of the activities of

conventional banks indicated that

total outstanding credit increased by

6 per cent to RO20.9bn at the end of

April 2018, while credit extended to the

private sector increased by 3.9 per cent

to RO18.5bn.

Overall investments made by

conventional banks in securities grew

by 6.6 per cent to RO3.1bn at the end of

April, while investment in Government

Treasury Bills stood at RO342.2mn and

investment in government securities,

inclusive of GDBs, government sukuk,

and others stood at RO1.4bn.

Gaining momentum

Conventional and Islamic banks in Oman maintain a steady

growth in the first quarter of 2018

IN THE NEWS