Bahrain banks' balance sheet rises to $192.6bn
Manama, July 17, 2014
The consolidated balance sheet of the banking system in Bahrain, comprising retail and wholesale banks, stood at $192.6 billion at the end of March this year, according to Central Bank of Bahrain data.
This was a slight increase over the consolidated balance sheet of $192 billion at the end of December last year, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Retail banks represented 40.2 per cent of the consolidated balance sheet at March-end, with an aggregate balance sheet of BD29.1 billion ($77.4 billion).
This was an increase of 2.8 per cent over a balance sheet of $75.3 billion at December-end last year and 4.7 per cent over March last year.
The aggregate balance sheet of wholesale banks stood at $115.2 billion in March, a decline of 1.3 per cent over a balance sheet of $116.7 billion at the end of December last year.
Total domestic assets of the banking system grew to $49.5 billion in March, from $48.7 billion in December last year.
Foreign assets only marginally declined to $143.1 billion in March, from $143.3 billion in the previous quarter.
Total domestic liabilities of the banking system totalled $51.1 billion in March, compared with $50.5 billion in December, while foreign liabilities remained almost unchanged at $141.5 billion.
Bahrain's retail banking system continued to post steady growth, both in its loan portfolio as well as assets, reflecting the healthy growth of the domestic economy.
Domestic assets of retail banks stood at BD15.8 billion, while foreign assets amounted to BD13.3 billion in March.
Domestic liabilities stood at BD15.4 billion, while foreign liabilities amounted to BD13.7 billion.
Total deposits at retail banks stood at BD15.3bn in March, an increase of 2.7pc over the December figure of BD14.9 billion.
Total outstanding loans and advances extended to residents by retail banks increased by 1.4 per cent to BD7.3 billion in March, from BD7.2 billion in the previous quarter.
Of the total loans at March-end, 60 per cent were in the form of business lending, while the personal and government sectors accounted for 37.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.
The distribution of the loans to business indicate that 21.2 per cent was extended to the construction and real estate sector, 15.7 per cent to the trade sector and 11.5 per cent to 'other' sectors, which include the hospitality industry and the transportation sector.
The manufacturing industry received 8.8 per cent of the loans.
The aggregate balance sheet of Bahrain's Islamic banks (retail and wholesale) stood at $24.2 billion in March, compared with $23.3 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
Domestic assets stood at $13.8 billion in March, while foreign assets amounted to $10.4 billion.
Money supply in Bahrain's economy, represented by M2 (currency in circulation and demand, time and saving deposits) rose to BD9.4 billion in March, from nearly BD9.2 billion at the end of December last year.
By the broader monetary measure M3 (which includes M2 as well as government deposits) stood at BD11.25 billion in March, only marginally higher than the BD11.21 billion level registered in the previous quarter. - TradeArabia News Service
