Total assets of commercial banks in Qatar registered more than a 4% year-on-year jump to QR1.4tn in September this year, according to the central bank figures.

Of the total assets, as much as 68% was credit portfolio that amounted to QR948.19bn, which witnessed about a 6% growth year-on-year in September 2018, according to Qatar Central Bank data.

Much of the credit went to the private sector, which accounted for about 61% of the total, or QR574.39bn in September this year. Credit to the private sector grew more than 9% on a yearly basis.

The higher growth in credit to the private sector shows the resiliency in the overall economy outside the hydrocarbons even amidst the economic blockade and the increasing cost of credit, market sources said.

With the market hinting towards hardening US interest rates, there could be a reflection in the Qatari monetary landscape amid the fixed exchange parity with the dollar, they said. Given the reserves and buffers, Qatar’s interest rate may not exactly reflect the changes in the US benchmark rates, they said.

Credit to the public sector stood at QR357.19bn, or about 38% of the total, in September 2018, witnessing about 3% rise year-on-year.

Of the QR948.19bn total credit, domestic credit stood at QR865.47bn, or 91%, whereas overseas credit amounted to QR82.73bn or 9%.

The second largest component within the commercial banks' assets is securities portfolio, which stood at QR177.2bn, or about 13% of the total, in the review period. The securities portfolio had however seen about 6% decline on a yearly basis.

Of the total QR177.2bn securities portfolio, conventional debt amounted to QR108.39bn and sukuk at QR64.3bn, which showed more than 5% and about 5% declines respectively year-on-year in September 2018.

Claims on banks stood at QR135.2bn this September compared to QR123.41bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Investments in subsidiaries and associates amounted to QR45.63bn in September 2018 compared to QR46.31bn in the same period of previous year.

The required reserves stood at QR36.64bn in September this year against QR36.26bn in the review period of 2017.

Related Story