Saudi April bank loan growth slowest since January 2012

The headquarters of Saudi Arabia’s central bank stand in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s M3 money supply growth decelerated to 13.3% year-on-year at the end of April from 13.6% in the previous month, which was the fastest rate since August 2013, central bank data showed yesterday. Bank lending growth to the private sector eased to 11.8% in April, the slowest clip since January 2012, from 12.8% in March. The central bank’s net foreign assets climbed to a record high of 2.732tn riyals ($728bn) in April, up 9.0% from a year ago, the lowest rate since February 2011.