tag

Qatari banks pushed lending outside the country up 58.6% in the seven months to July 2026, far outpacing the 3.2% rise in the domestic loan book over the same stretch, according to the QNBFS Monthly Banking Sector Update for July 2026. The overseas book grew a further 1.7% during July alone, a pace that stands out against a domestic loan market where deposit growth is cooling, according to the report. Total sector assets held steady at QR2.194tn in July, up 2.0% from the end of 2025. The loan book edged up 0.6% during the month to QR1,482.0bn, a 3.2% increase since December. Deposits moved the other way, falling 3.2% during July to QR1,070.2bn, though they're still 2.5% higher than at the end of 2025, noted the report. That combination, the report further stated, pushed the loan-to-deposit ratio to 139% in July, up from 133% in June and 137% at the close of last year. “However, as per the Qatar Central Bank's guideline for calculating the LDR (including stable sources of funds), the LDR is well below the 100% limit,” the report pointed out. Public sector deposits dropped 8.7% during the month, though they remain up 0.6% for the year so far. Government deposits, roughly 29% of the public sector total, fell 2.1% in July and are down 11.2% since December, the report stated. Government institutions, the largest slice at about 55%, saw deposits contract 13.9% during the month, even though they remain 3.3% ahead of where they started the year. Semi-government institutions, around 17% of the total, posted a smaller 0.9% monthly decline, with deposits still up a sharp 17.2% since year-end. Non-resident deposits bucked the trend, rising 2.6% in July and sitting 4.3% higher than at the end of 2025. The report noted that they now make up 19.1% of total deposits, barely changed from 18.8% at the close of last year. Private sector deposits slipped 1.0% during the month but are still 3.1% higher than at year-end. Within that, deposits from companies and institutions fell 2.0% and are up 2.7% for the year, while consumer deposits stayed flat during the month and are up 5.2% since December, the report stated. On the lending side, growth in public sector loans offset weakness in the private segment, keeping the overall loan book's monthly gain at 0.6%. The report stated that public sector loans rose 1.3% in July, though they remain 3.9% below where they stood at the end of 2025. The government segment, roughly 40% of public sector loans, grew 0.7% during the month and is up 15.8% for the year. Government institutions, about 51% of the total, increased 1.6% in July, though they're still down 18.0% since December. Semi-government institutions, around 10% of public sector loans, rose 2.1% during the month and are up 20.0% since year-end, the strongest growth of the three, the report stated.  Private sector loans were flat during the month and up 1.0% since the end of last year.Retail loans declined 1.0% in July but are up 2.3% since December, while real estate lending climbed 0.7% during the month even as it remains 2.6% below its year-end level. Other lending categories were largely unchanged, the report stated. Asset quality improved slightly: loan provisions held steady at 3.8% of gross loans in July, down from 4.0% at the end of 2025. Loan loss provisions were unchanged during the month and down 1.7% since December. Liquid assets held at 30% of total assets in July, matching the ratio in May, June, and at the end of 2025, a level regarded as strong, the report stated. 

Qatari lenders were seen to have the highest operational efficiency within the Gulf banks during the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, according to Kamco Invest, a regional non-banking finance entity."Qatari banks continued to boast the lowest cost-to-income ratio in the GCC that reached a seven-quarter low level of 36.6% during Q2-2025," Kamco said in its latest report.At the country level, the aggregates for Qatari banks showed a 110bps (basis points) plunge, followed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia banks with 70bps and 60bps fall respectively, it said.The aggregate operating expenses for the listed banks in the GCC continued to decline for the second consecutive quarter reaching a three-quarter low level during Q2-2025, Kamco noted.Total operating expenses for the GCC banking sector stood at $13.4bn during Q2 with a quarter-on-quarter decline of 1.5% and a year-on-year growth of 6.9%.The quarterly decline showed mixed trends at the country level with three countries showing an increase and the remaining three showing a decline.The UAE-listed banks showed the biggest fall in operating costs during the quarter that reached $4.6bn from $4.9bn in Q1-2025.Qatari and Bahraini banks also showed declines of 4.5% and 4%, respectively, it said, adding on the other hand, Kuwait banks reported the biggest increase of 4.4% with total operating expenses reaching $1.6bn in Q2-2025.The quarterly increase reported by Saudi and Omani banks was marginal, it added.The decline in operating expenses resulted in a marginal drop in the cost-to-income ratio for the GCC banking sector that once again went below the 40% mark during Q2-2025. The ratio fell by 50bps to 39.5% at the end of the quarter compared to 40% during Q1-2025, reflecting a drop in the ratio for three of six country aggregates.The report found that the Qatari banks' loan-to-deposit ratio was at 90.3% during Q2-2025, an improvement from 89.6% during Q1-2025.The aggregate loan-to-deposit ratio for the GCC banking sector remained elevated above the 80% mark at the end of Q2-2025."The ratio has remained consistently above 80% over the last five quarters and reflects improving asset utilisation as well as better margins to offset pressure from lowering interest rates," it said.Total customer deposits of listed GCC banks reached a new record high at the end of Q2-2025 at $2.74tn, registering a quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.5%.The growth was broad-based as seen in higher quarterly customer deposits in all countries in the GCC.At the country level, Kuwaiti banks saw the strongest growth in deposits at $334.8bn after a quarter-on-quarter growth of 4.7%.The UAE-listed banks were next with a quarterly deposits growth of 4.1% to $941bn, the highest in the GCC, followed by banks in Saudi Arabia with a growth of 3.9% to $858.8bn. Banks in Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, have reported slightly smaller customer deposit growth during the quarter, it said.