Qatar banks record uptick in loans, deposits in September: QNBFS

Qatari banks’ have seen an uptick in loans in September, driven by the private sector and exceeded QR1.25tn, QNB Financial Services has said.The local banks have also seen a surge in deposits, driven by both the private and public sectors, QNBFS said in its ‘Qatar Monthly Banking Sector’ update.Deposits with local banks rose 2.8% during September to reach QR953.3bn, QNBFS said.According to QNBFS, total assets of local banks went up 2.4% to reach QR1.92tn. Total assets increase in September was mainly due to a rise by 1.8% in domestic assets and 6.6% in foreign assets.The overall loan book went up 0.8%, QNBFS said. Total private sector loans climbed up 1.7% month-on-month (m-o-m), +2.5% in 2023) in September.The services and trade segments were the main drivers for the private sector loan rise.Services (contributes 31% to private sector loans) gained 2.5% m-o-m (+6.4% in 2023), while general trade (contributes 21% to private sector loans) increased by 3.2% m-o-m (+5% so far this year).Consumption and others (contributing 21% to private sector loans) went up by 1.6% m-o-m (+5.4% in 2023), with the real estate segment (contributes 21% to private sector loans) going up by 1% m-o-m (-5.2% in 2023) in September.Total public sector loans declined by 0.9% m-o-m (-4.6% in 2023). The government institutions’ segment (represents 66% of public sector loans) dropped 2% m-o-m (-1.8% in 2023), while the government segment (represents 27% of public sector loans) dipped by 3.9% m-o-m (-16.2% in 2023).However, the semi-government institutions’ segment shot up 27.8% m-o-m (+32.5% in 2023).Outside Qatar loans moved lower by 1.9% m-o-m (-4.9% in 2023) during September.Public sector deposits surged up by 4.2% m-o-m (-9% in 2023) in September.Looking at segment details, QNBFS noted the government segment (represents 27% of public sector deposits) was the main growth catalyst for the public sector, rising by 10.5% m-o-m (-18.6% in 2023).The government institutions’ segment (represents 57% of public sector deposits) moved up by 1.1% m-o-m (-6.5% in 2023) and the semi-government institutions’ segment increased by 5.7% m-o-m (+1.7% in 2023) in September.Private sector deposits moved up by 2.8% m-o-m (+0.1% in 2023) in September. On the private sector front, the consumer segment rose significantly by 4.6% m-o-m (+7.2% in 2023), while the companies and institutions’ segment increased by 0.8% m-o-m (-7.0% in 2023) during September.Non-resident deposits edged up by 0.2% m-o-m (-7.6% in 2023) in September.Qatar banking sector loan provisions to gross loans was at 4% in September, compared to 3.9% in August.The sector’s liquid assets to total assets was at a higher 31.5% in September, compared to 30.5% in August this year.An analyst told Gulf Times: "The highlights for September is the continued growth in loans for the private sector, mainly driven by the services and trade segments, which went up by 2.5% (QR6.3bn) and 3.2% (QR5.4bn) respectively, indicating an upbeat in both tourism and trade."The overall deposits surge by 2.8% (QR25.6bn) was driven by both the private and public sectors, with the consumer segment being attracted by the higher interest rate environment and the government deposits rising with favourable oil and gas prices.”