Oman's banking sector maintains steady growth

Muscat: Oman'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 OMR24.1 billion at the end of April 2018 compared with the previous year.
Credit extended to the private sector increased by 6.0 per cent to OMR21.5 billion at the end of April, 45.5 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.
Total deposits registered a growth of 2.3 per cent to OMR22.0 billion, with private sector deposits growing by 1.8 per cent to OMR14.1 billion 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 OMR20.9 billion at the end of April 2018, while credit extended to the private sector increased by 3.9 per cent to OMR18.5 billion.
Overall investments made by conventional banks in securities grew by 6.6 per cent to OMR3.1 billion at the end of April, while investment in Government Treasury Bills stood at OMR342.2 million and investment in government securities, inclusive of GDBs, government sukuk, and others stood at OMR1.4 billion.