Oman's conventional banks credit grows

Muscat: A review of the activities of conventional banks exhibits an annual growth in total outstanding credit of 4.7 per cent at the end of November 2018. Credit to the private sector increased by 3.8 per cent to reach OMR18.9 billion.
Conventional banks’ overall investment in securities stood at OMR3.1 billion. Investments in government development bonds and government sukuk increased by 13.2 per cent over the year to OMR1.4 billion, while their investment in treasury bills stood at OMR272.6 million.
Conventional banks' investments in foreign securities stood at OMR1.1 billion at the end of November 2018.
Aggregate deposits held with conventional banks increased by 4.9 per cent to OMR19.5 billion in November 2018 from OMR18.6 billion a year ago.
Government deposits went up by 11.1 per cent to OMR5.4 billion, while deposits of public enterprises increased by 15.1 per cent to OMR1.1 billion.
Private sector deposits, which accounted for 65 per cent of total deposits with conventional banks, increased by 1.3 per cent to OMR12.7 billion in November 2018.
The core capital and reserves of conventional banks stood at OMR4.5 billion as of the end of November 2018.
Islamic banking entities
The Islamic banking entities provided finance amounting to OMR3.5 billion at the end of November 2018, higher as compared to OMR3 billion a year ago.
Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows also increased significantly by 11.2 per cent to OMR3.2 billion in November 2018.
The total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined amounted to OMR4.3 billion at the end of November 2018 and constituted about 13 per cent of the banking system assets.