Oman fund manager ‘selective’ on Gulf banks

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Oman's First Mazoon Fund is "selective" on banks in the Gulf Arab region as a recovery in credit growth is expected only in the second half of the year, its manager said on Tuesday.

"When it comes to the banking sector, we are selective in the region. We do not expect credit growth in the first half of the year," said Sankar Kailasam, the fund's manager and senior vice president for asset management at Gulf Baader Capital Markets in Muscat.

Banks in the region have had to take large provisions against their exposure to indebted conglomerates and certain family-owned groups in the wake of the global financial crisis, curtailing their ability to lend more.