Bashir Al Kahlout
QCB data released yesterday indicated a significant increase of QR41.1bn in the size of the commercial banks’ Assets at the end of December 2019 from the previous month, and an increase of QR131bn or 9.2 percent over December 2018, to reach QR1,549.6bn.
Total Cash in QR and due from QCB increased at the end of December 2019 by QR2.3bn than November to the level of QR 60.2bn, but was 15.5 percent less than December 2018, and 19.3 percent more than of December 2017.
Credit Outside Qatar
There has been a significant decrease in the past two years, as it decreased from QR90.5bn in December 2017 to QR80.5bn in December 2018, then to QR74.9bn in December 2019.
Due to banks abroad, which rose by about QR17.6bn from last November to QR 94.4bn in December, and they were in the range of QR90bn a year ago.
Investments abroad have remained stable for the past two years, with limited changes, reaching QR59bn in December 2019.
Local Assets, consist of three main components which are Due from Banks in Qatar, Domestic Credit, and Domestic Investments, in addition to Fixed and Other assets as follows: –
Due from Banks in Qatar: They were low in the month of the blockade in June 2017 at the level of QR30.7bn, but rose in December 2018 to QR56bn, then to the level of QR65.4bn in December 2019
Domestic Credit
It constitutes 62.2 percent of the total Assets, and it increased in last December to QR 964.2bn, compared to QR950.9bn in the previous month, and QR 859.9bn in December 2018.
Domestic investments were not affected by the blockade, as their total increased from QR166.8bn in December 2018 to about QR184.5bn in November 2019, then to QR185.1bn in December 2019. Bank Liabilities, they are equal to the total Assets, and thus rose in December 2019 to the level of QR1549.6bn.
The liabilities
First: Foreign liabilities, the most important of which are
Due to External Banks: It increased in December 2019 to QR273.5bn from QR257.3bn last November, and QR218.7bn a year ago, and QR177.3bn two years ago.
Non-Residents Deposits: It rose last December to QR208.2bn from QR202.5bn in November, QR169.1bn a year ago and QR137.1bn two years ago.
Debit Securities
They stabilised last December around QR61.6bn, from QR61.8bn in November, but they were higher than the QR51.1bn a year ago.
Second: (Local Liabilities)
Resident Deposits (Qatari and non-Qatari): It is noted that the total of Resident Deposits increased in December by about QR13bn from November, to reach the level of QR 640.9bn, compared to QR627.9bn last November, QR641.3bn a year ago, and QR685.9bn two years ago.
Bank capital accounts: It usually grow steadily, reaching QR155.4bn in December 2019, from QR145.5bn a year ago.
Due to banks in Qatar: (increased by QR 7.8bn from last November to QR63.2bn in December 2019 compared to QR49.1bn a year ago, and QR37bn two years ago)
Due to QCB: It increased to QR14bn in December from QR13.05bn in November, and it was QR21.8bn a year ago.
Money supply (M2)
The data released showed that the Wide Money Supply (M2) rose in December by about QR14.7bn from the previous month to reach QR578bn. M2 consists of the Narrow Money Supply (M1) and Quasi-Money as follows:
Narrow Money supply (M1), which is Money in Circulation and Demand Deposits. Money in circulation was about QR11.6bn in December, while total Demand Deposits reached QR113.1bn, and the total of both together would equal to Narrow Money supply with a value of about QR124.7bn in December 2019.
Quasi- Money consists of Time Deposits of QR295.4bn, Foreign Currency Deposits of QR157.9bn, and both together equal QR453.3bn in December.
(The views published in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of The Peninsula.)
