Credit extended by banks in Oman tops OMR23bn

Muscat: The total bank credit extended by commercial banks in the Sultanate of Oman during the first quarter of this year amounted to OMR23.10 billion, compared to OMR22.68 billion during the same period in 2021, an increase of 1.4 per cent.

The quarterly statistical bulletin issued by the Research and Statistics Department of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) indicated that the personal loans sector had obtained OMR8.05 billion, or 37.8 per cent of the total bank credit to commercial banks at the end of March 2022.

The industry sector received OMR2.56 billion, at 8.9 per cent, the construction sector OMR2.44 billion, or 8.9 per cent, followed by the services sector OMR1.97 billion, or 8.6 per cent of the total bank credit.

The bulletin indicated that the transportation and communication sector received OMR426.3 million, or 6.2 per cent of credit granted to commercial banks during the first three months of 2021, and the electricity, gas and water sectors received OMR413.5 million, or 6.1 per cent of the total credit volume.

The financial institutions’ sector received 267.9 million, at 5.5 per cent, followed by wholesale and retail trade at OMR112.4.4, or 4.8 per cent.

The quarterly bulletin of the Central Bank of Oman indicated that the volume of bank credit granted to the mining sector (mines and quarries) during the first quarter of this year amounted to OMR785.9 million, or 3.4 per cent, followed by the import trade sector by OMR776.5 million, or 3.4 per cent of the total bank credit.

At the end of March 2022, the government sector received OMR528.2 million, or 2.3 per cent of the total credit, and the agriculture sector and related activities received OMR43.5 million, or 0.2 per cent of the volume of bank credit to commercial banks, followed by the export sector at OMR35.5 million, or 0.2 per cent of the total.

The bulletin also indicated that the volume of bank credit to commercial banks in the Sultanate of Oman for other economic activities during the first quarter of this year amounted to OMR680.2 million, or 3 per cent, while the volume of bank credit to non-residents amounted to OMR162.9 million, or 0.7 per cent of the total volume of bank credit.