Muscat – Total outstanding credit extended by Oman’s banking sector grew by 3.9 per cent to RO27.3bn at the end of January 2022, according to the latest statistics released by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

Bank credit to the private sector showed a moderate growth of 1.8 per cent at RO23.5bn in January this year compared to the same period of 2021, the data showed.

The shares of non-financial corporate sector and household sector (mainly personal loans) in total private sector credit stood at 46.7 per cent and 45.1 per cent, respectively, at the end of January 2022. The share of financial corporations was 4.5 per cent and other sectors received the remaining 3.7 per cent of the total private sector credit .

The total deposits held with the Omani banks (conventional and Islamic) registered a year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent to reach RO25.6bn at the end of January 2022. Total private sector deposits increased by 2.3 per cent to RO17.3bn.

In terms of sector-wise composition of private sector deposits, the biggest share goes to household’s deposits at 51.7 per cent, followed by non-financial corporations at 30.5 per cent, financial corporations at 14.8 per cent and the other sectors at 3 per cent.