DOHA: Qatar-based banks’ loan book increased by 0.8 percent month-on-month (MoM), up 5.9 percent year-to-date, while deposits increased by 1.3 percent MoM in the month of August 2014.
After posting a decline of 1 percent in July 2014, primarily due to Ramadan and summer lull, loans increased by 0.8 percent MoM with private sector growing by 2.4 percent, QNB Financial Services monthly banking sector update noted yesterday.
The banks’ deposits also increased by 1.3 percent, after 2.7 percent decline in July. “Going forward, we expect increased activity in the sector. We expect improvement in the public sector, in addition to large corporate loan growth to be the primary drivers of the overall loan book in 2014 followed by the SMEs and consumer lending. Our view is based on the expected uptick in project mobilisations in the coming months”, the report said.
The public sector deposits increased by 0.7 percent MoM for August. Delving into segment details, the government institutions’ segment improved by 6.2 percent MoM and rose 8.5 percent YTD 2014. Moreover, the semi-government institutions’ segment posted a growth of 5.6 percent. The government segment decreased by 10.1 percent. Private sector deposits grew by 1.4 percent compared to the previous months. On the private sector front, the companies and institutions’ segment increased by 4.1 percent, while the consumer segment receded by 1.1 percent.
The overall loan book increased by 0.8 percent after a decline of 1 percent MoM in July. International credit, decreased by 6.6 percent in August compared to July, but is up 26.8 percent YTD 2014.
Total domestic public sector loans grew by 0.5 percent and are down 3.7 percent YTD. The government segment’s loan book grew by 1.1 percent (down 0.8 percent YTD). The government institutions’ segment grew by 0.7 percent and is down 8.4 percent YTD. However, the semi-government institutions’ segment declined by 1.3 percent MoM (+13.8 percent YTD).
Private sector loans gained by 2.4 percent and are up 10.8 percent YTD. Services segment also posted a growth of 7.8 percent and is up 22.7 percent in the first eight months of 2014. Consumption and Others increased by 2 percent (+13.9 percent YTD). The real estate segment grew by 0.9 percent (+1.4 percent YTD). Overall, services and contractors, rose by 22.7 percent 17.1 percent, respectively, were the best performing in the private sector YTD.
The Peninsula
