Mubasher: GCC bank assets increased by nearly 10% to $1.8 trillion in 2015, and shareholders' equity amounted to $259 billion, said Adnan Yousef, CEO of Al Baraka Banking Group.
He added that the combined GDP of Arab countries reached around $2.8 trillion at the end of 2014, and is expected to hit $2.4 trillion at the end of 2015. However, it will likely rise to 2.5 trillion this year.
The Arab state's average real GDP fell to 1.3% in 2014, Adnan said.
In a press conference in Beirut, the CEO said the GCC's GDP growth declined from 3.7% in 2013 to 3.3% in 2014, and will likely fall to 3.1% in 2015 but rise 3.4% in 2016.
The total deposits of GCC banks exceeded $2.1 trillion, and their loans reached more than $1.7 trillion at the end of September 2015.
