Qatar’s financial sector maintained an exceptionally firm and resilient footing throughout 2025, effectively absorbing external shocks while continuing to perform its core functions smoothly.
The national economy successfully navigated a complex global environment defined by heightened geopolitical uncertainty, persistent trade policy shifts, and tighter international financial conditions, noted Qatar Central Bank Governor His Excellency Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud al-Thani in the ‘2025 Financial Stability Review’ recently released by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB).
“Against these backdrops Qatar’s economy continued to demonstrate resilience and adaptability, supported by prudent macroeconomic management, sustained infrastructure investment, and steady progress in economic diversification under Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy,” Sheikh Bandar emphasised.”
Anchored by vibrant domestic demand and expansion across key non-hydrocarbon sectors, the Qatari economy achieved a solid real GDP growth rate of 2.9%, according to the report.
The report stated that headline inflation remained firmly contained across the country, supported by balanced market conditions and a stabilising real estate sector that witnessed moderate price growth and reduced volatility.
“The Qatar Stock Exchange recorded resilient performance despite global and regional uncertainties. Market capitalisation increased, trading activity remained robust, and important institutional reforms contributed to strengthening market infrastructure, governance, and investor confidence,” the report revealed.
It also stated that Qatar’s banking sector significantly reinforced its financial standing, expanding total assets by 5.1% primarily through balanced credit growth across public and private channels.
“Asset quality indicators improved further, supported by lower non-performing loans and stronger provisioning coverage, while capital and liquidity buffers remained significantly above regulatory minimum requirements,” the report pointed out.
Proactive macroprudential and supervisory oversight from the QCB ensured that domestic banks preserved strong loss-absorption capacity, a condition confirmed through rigorous stress testing under adverse scenarios, the report noted.
“Simultaneously, the moderation in deposit growth relative to credit expansion contributed to a gradual shift in banks’ funding structures toward greater use of market-based and external funding sources,” the report stated.
At the same time, an increasing preference for local currency financing helped mitigate currency mismatch risks and further strengthened the domestic deposit base, it also pointed out.
“In line with developments in US monetary policy and the exchange rate framework, the QCB reduced policy rates cumulatively by 75 basis points in 2025, bringing the QCB Deposit Rate to 3.85%, the QCB Repurchase Rate to 4.10%, and the QCB Lending Rate to 4.35% by year-end,” the report stated, adding that these rate adjustments brought the QCB Deposit Rate to 3.85%, the Repurchase Rate to 4.10%, and the Lending Rate to 4.35% by the end of December.
The report stated, “Official reserves continued to strengthen, reaching highly comfortable levels across standard reserve adequacy metrics, thereby reinforcing monetary stability.”
In parallel, non-bank financial institutions including Qatar Development Bank (QDB), finance companies, and investment firms recorded healthy asset growth while advancing targeted economic diversification programmes.
The report stated that QDB specifically launched several initiatives to empower local enterprise, including the TAMKEEN National Funding Gate, an updated Al Dhameen Credit Guarantee Programme, and dedicated partial guarantee programmes for tech startups.
The digital payment ecosystem saw dramatic acceleration, highlighted by an 82% surge in total retail payment values compared to 2024, the report noted. This retail expansion, according to the report, was driven by foreign currency transfer activation on the QA-RTGS system, expanded Himyan card features including Apple Pay integration, and automated refund capabilities on the Fawran instant platform.
Guided by the Third Financial Sector Strategy, the QCB also implemented new Data Handling and Protection Regulations alongside a mandatory ESCROW account framework for real estate projects, the report stated.
“On cyber resilience, the QCB conducted the first sector-wide Cyber Resiliency Exercise, issued its internal Cyber Resilience Strategy, established a Cyber Forensics Laboratory, and continued the Stay Aware National Information Security Awareness Campaign,” the report added.
