Doha: The total assets (and liabilities) of Qatar’s commercial banks reached QR1,566.2bn in February 2020, an increase of about QR5.4bn from the previous month.
The assets consist of credit facilities, debt securities, bonds, sukuk, bank balances and investments in branches. On the other hand, liabilities consist of customer deposits, deposits with other banks, capital accounts, bonds and debentures, and other liabilities.
Al Byraq Center for Economic and Financial Studies noted in its detailed reading of Qatar Central Bank’s monthly bulletin on banks that Public sector deposits increased by QR1.5bn to QR279.9bn. The total public sector loans from local banks increased by QR6.6bn to QR338bn.
Total domestic private sector deposits with banks increased by QR3.5bn to QR383bn by the end of February from the previous month. The total local loans and credit facilities provided by banks to the local private sector increased by QR14.2bn to reach the level of QR662.3bn. The credit facilities to the real estate sector increased by QR1.1bn to QR147.5bn. Consumer loans to individuals were up by QR1.2bn to QR138bn. The loans to services sector jumped by QR2.8bn to QR173.6bn and the credit facilities to the trade sector rose by QR2.1bn to QR137.9bn. However, the loans to industrial sector remained unchanged from January.
On the asset side, commercial banks’ investments in securities outside Qatar stood at QR19.7bn. Its assets with banks outside Qatar decreased by about QR18bn to QR75.3bn. Local bank loans to external destinations decreased by about QR0.5bn to the level of QR74.3bn, while local bank investments in foreign companies increased by QR0.1 billion to QR58.8, and their other assets abroad decreased by about QR0.2bn to QR3.8bn.
On the liabilities side, deposits of foreign banks with banks inside Qatar decreased by QR12.7bn to QR250.4bn, and local banks’ debt abroad increased in the form of bonds and certificates of deposit by about QR8.5bn to the level of QR70.1bn. The balance of holders of foreign deposits with Qatari banks increased by QR1.6bn to QR216.6bn, and then the total liabilities of the outside world decreased by about QR2.6bn to QR537.6bn.
By matching the assets of the banking sector abroad with those of other liabilities, we find that the net liabilities of the banking sector in Qatar to the outside world have increased by the end of February by about QR16bn to QR305bn, said Bashir Al Kahlout, Economic Consultant and Director, Al Byraq Center for Economic and Financial Studies.
SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR