Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia’s bank lending increased by 1.7% year-on-year, or SAR 24.14 billion ($6.44 billion), to SAR 1.43 trillion ($382.24 billion) in October, up from SAR 1.409 trillion, according to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) data.
The growth of loans was attributed to a rise in the long- and short-term credit facilities, while the medium-term credit levelled down.
The long-term loans jumped 11.7% to SAR 495.98 billion in October, against SAR 444.55 billion in the same month a year earlier.
The Saudi central bank further noted that the short-term loans inched up 0.6% to SAR 709.08 billion in October, versus SAR 704.46 billion during the corresponding month last year.
On the other hand, medium-term credit decreased by 12.2% year-on-year to SAR 228.34 billion in October, from SAR 260.08 billion.
Month-on-month, the oil-rich kingdom's bank credit edged up 0.2% in October, compared to SAR 1.43 trillion in September.
SAMA previously stated that bank credit in the GCC nation rose 1.5%, or 21.39 billion in the third quarter of 2018, reaching SAR 1.43 trillion, compared to SAR 1.408 trillion during Q3-17.
