Loans given by Bahrain retail banks rise 4.3% to $31bln in 2023

PHOTO

Bahrain - The outstanding total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors by retail banks in Bahrain increased to BD11.8 billion ($31.36 billion) at the end of 2023, an increase of 4.3% compared to the end of 2022.

The Business Sector accounted for 42.6% and the Personal Sector 49.5% of the total loans and credit facilities, according to key banking indicators presented by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

The CBB Board of Directors held its second meeting for the year 2024, chaired by Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahma, on Sunday and approved the CBB’s annual report and key economic developments for the year 2023, in addition to the CBB’s audited financial statements for the year 2023.

Total private deposits increased to BD14.2 billion at the end of 2023, an increase of 5% compared to the end of 2022.

The balance sheet of the banking system (retail banks and wholesale sector banks) increased to $238.5 billion at the end of 2023, an increase of 6.4% compared to the end of 2022.

The money supply increased to BD16.0 billion at the end of 2023, an increase of 5.5% compared to the end of 2022.

January 2024 figures

For January 2024, the money supply M3 increased to reach BD15.8 billion, an increase of 0.8% compared to the end of January 2023. The total private deposits in retail banks increased to BD14.1 billion at the end of January 2024, an increase of 0.9% compared to the end of January 2023.

The outstanding balance of total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors increased to BD11.8 billion at the end of January 2024, an increase of 4.8% compared to the end of January 2023, with the Business Sector accounting for 42.7% and the Personal Sector at 49.4% of total loans and credit facilities.

The balance sheet of the banking system (retail banks and wholesale sector banks) increased to $237.8 billion at the end of January 2024, an increase of 10.4% compared to the end of January 2023.

Point of sales data

Point of Sales (POS) data for 2023 shows a total of 183.9 million transactions (77.6% of which were contactless), an increase of 13% compared to 2022. The total value of POS transactions for the year 2023 totaled BD4.1 billion (50.7% of which were contactless), an increase of 7.9% compared to 2022.

The POS data of January 2024, shows a total of 16.9 million transactions (77.2% of which were contactless), an increase of 13% compared to January 2023. The total value of POS transactions for January 2024 was BD377.9 million (50.1% of which were contactless), an increase of 11.3% compared to January 2023.

The banking sector maintained a high level of capital adequacy and liquidity, as the capital adequacy ratio reached 19.7% in Q4 2023 compared with 19.5% in Q4 2022. The capital adequacy ratio for conventional retail banks was 21.9%; 18% for conventional wholesale banks, 20% for Islamic retail banks, and 17.4% for Islamic wholesale banks in Q4 2023.

CIU assets

The total number of registered Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs) as of January 2024 stood at 1678, a decrease of 3.67% compared to January 2023. The net asset value (NAV) of the CIUs decreased from $11.568 billion in 2022 to $11.326 billion in 2023, reflecting a decrease of 2.09%.

The NAV of Bahrain domiciled CIUs decreased from $5.443 billion in 2022 to $4.309 billion in 2023, reflecting a decrease of 20.83%. Furthermore, the NAV of overseas domiciled CIUs increased from $6.125 billion in 2022 to $7.017 billion in 2023, reflecting an increase of 14.56%. Additionally, the NAV of Shari’a-compliant CIUs increased from $1.107 billion in 2022 to $1.805 billion in 2023, reflecting an increase of 63.05%.