Mubasher: Bank lending in Qatar recorded an all-time high in March 2018, Qatar Central Bank (QCB) said.

Loans went up 9.6% to QAR 937.4 billion in the third month of 2018, up from QAR 855.5 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to the QCB’s statement.

Month-on-month, Qatari banks’ credit rose 0.5% in March, compared to QAR 932.6 billion in the month before.

The central bank attributed the monthly growth in bank lending to an increase in the private sector's loans, which went up 2.4% to QAR 547.5 billion in March from QAR 534.6 billion in the previous month.

On the other hand, public sector’s loans declined 2.1% to QAR 369.4 billion last month versus QAR 377.3 billion in February 2018.

Bank credit to non-banking financial institutions operating in the world’s biggest LNG exporter decreased 0.5% to QAR 20.6 billion in March versus QAR 20.7 billion in the prior month.