The Banking Executive Magazine - October Issue

Bank Deposits in Oman Bank Deposits in Oman RISE NEARLY 12% IN FIRST 8 MONTHS OF 2024 Total outstanding bank deposits in Oman recorded a robust growth of 11.6% during the first eight months of this year. Bank deposits held within the sultanate’s banking system rose to RO31.1bn as of the end of August 2024, compared to the same period a year ago, according to data released by the Central Bank of Oman. Of the total deposits, private sector deposits grew by 11.7% to RO20.8bn as of August 2024. In terms of sector-wise composition of private sector deposits, the largest contribution came from household deposits at 49.5%, followed by non- financial corporations at 30%, finan- cial corporations at 17.9%, and other sectors at 2.6%. Aggregate deposits held with con- ventional banks increased by 10.1% year-on-year to RO24.7bn at the end of August 2024. Government de- posits with conventional banks slightly increased by 2.1% to RO5.4bn, while deposits from public enterprises rose significantly by 28.5% to RO1.9bn. Private sector deposits, which accounted for 66.5% of total deposits with conven- tional banks, increased by 7.6% to reach RO16.4bn as of August 2024. In contrast, total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows recorded a more robust growth of 17.6%, reaching RO6.4bn in August. Regarding banking sector credit, total outstanding credit extended by the banking system grew by 3.3% to RO31.4bn at the end of August 2024, with credit to the private sec- tor demonstrating an increase of 2.8% to reach RO26.3bn. Non-financial corporations received the highest share of the total private sector credit, accounting for approx- imately 44.9% at the end of August 2024, followed closely by the house- hold sector at 45.2%. The share of fi- nancial corporations was 6.4%, while other sectors received the re- maining 3.5% of total private sector credit as of the end of August 2024. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 28 ISSUE 189 OCTOBER 2024