The assets of Gulf banks registered a growth during the third quarter of this year, by 9.9 percent compared to the previous quarter, to $ 2.53 trillion.
A research report by the Kuwaiti company KAMCO Invest (private), based on data from 61 banks listed on the Gulf stock markets, showed that bank assets were recorded at $ 2.47 trillion by the end of the second quarter of 2020.
The report showed that Islamic banks again contributed to boosting asset growth during the third quarter, after their assets recorded a growth rate of 2.6 percent, compared to 2.1 percent for traditional banks.
The net profit of the banking sector recorded 56.5 percent during the third quarter of the year on a quarterly basis, to $ 7.5 billion, according to the report, which said that despite the increase in gross profit, it is still much lower than the levels before the Corona pandemic.
He pointed out that the growth in quarterly profits is due to the decrease in provisions during this financial period, the reduction in financing costs, in addition to the growth of non-interest income.
Total revenues of banks listed in the Gulf markets grew by 4.1 percent in the third quarter to $ 19.6 billion, compared to $ 18.8 billion in the second quarter of 2020.
UAE banks recorded the only decline during the third quarter of the year on a quarterly basis, by 1.1 percent, while Kuwaiti banks recorded the highest increase by 11.6 percent, in contrast, Saudi and Qatari banks' revenues increased by 6.4 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.
The Gulf countries are going through the worst economic and financial crisis in their history as a result of the negative consequences of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, and the drop in oil prices, the main source of income in the region, amid the decline in global demand.
And last month, Moody's, the credit rating agency, predicted that the economic downturn would lead to an increased pace of mergers and acquisitions of banks in the Gulf countries, due to the Corona crisis and the prolonged decline in oil prices.
The number of Gulf banks operating in the Gulf states is about 168, serving about 58 million people.
The UAE has the largest number of banks with about 48 banks, then Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with 31 banks each, then Kuwait with 22, and Qatar and Oman with 18 banks each.
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