Qatar banks saw the strongest lending growth among the Gulf lenders during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022 despite hard interest rate regime, according to Kamco Invest, a regional economic think-tank.
The GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) central banks data showed that after months of marginal activity, Qatari banks reported the biggest lending growth at 3.5% during Q4-2022 compared to a decline in lending during the previous quarter.
Aggregate credit facilities in Qatar reached QR1.3tn at the end of Q4-2022 mainly backed by 9% growth in lending to the real estate, followed by 5.5% and 5.4% growth in lending to services and public sector. A decline in lending to industry (-4.4%) and consumption (-2.5%) partially offset the overall growth in domestic lending.
Saudi Arabia continued to report strong growth at 1.4%, but the pace declined considerably and was the smallest since June-2019.
The growth in the case of Kuwaiti banks was also modest at 0.9% quarter-on-quarter and was the smallest growth since Q4-2020, while credit growth reported by Oman central bank came in at 1.2% during Q4-2022.
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