Total credit extended witnesses 6% growth

Muscat: The banking sector in Oman continued to witness reasonable growth and supported the economic diversification initiatives by meeting the credit needs of all segments in the economy.
The total outstanding credit extended by other depository corporations (conventional and Islamic banks together) stood at OMR25.1 billion as at the end of January 2019, witnessing a growth of 6.1 per cent over the level a year ago.
Credit to the private sector increased by 4.8 per cent to OMR22.1 billion. Of the total credit to the private sector, the non-financial corporate sector received highest 45.9 per cent, closely followed by the household sector (mainly under personal loans) with 45.5 per cent while financial corporations and other sectors obtained 5.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.
Total deposits increased by 4.1 per cent to OMR22.6 billion, with private sector deposits growing by 1.3 per cent to OMR14.3 billion at the end of January 2019.
Sector-wise, the contribution of households to total private sector deposits stood at 49.2 per cent, followed by non-financial corporations at 30.2 per cent, financial corporations at 18.1 per cent, and the other sectors at 2.5 per cent.