Mubasher: Assets of banks operating in Qatar fell 1.8% month-on-month in January, according to data released by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) on Wednesday.

Total assets declined QAR 26 billion ($7.2 billion) to QAR 1.391 trillion ($383.7 billion) last month, from QAR 1.417 trillion ($391 billion) in December 2018.

On a yearly basis, assets owned by the Qatari banking sector rose 1.83% in January, from QAR 1.366 trillion ($376.8 billion) in the same month a year earlier.

The monthly decline in assets was ascribed to the 17.6% plunge in the value of claims against banks in January which registered QAR 120.2 billion, versus QAR 145.97 billion in the previous month.

Credit facilities amounted to QAR 979.67 billion last month, compared to QAR 940.43 billion in December 2018.

Month-on-month, the value of securities’ portfolio retreated to QAR 175.16 billion in January, compared to QAR 177.45 billion in the prior month.

It is noteworthy that assets owned by banks operating in Qatar surged 3.9% to QAR 1.417 trillion in 2018, against QAR 1.363 trillion in the prior year.