Riyadh – Mubasher: Mortgage lending from Saudi banks and financing companies accounted for 19% of the collective financing portfolio, expanding from 12%, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority’s (SAMA) governor Ahmed Al Kholifey said.

Mortgage loans totalled 106,000 since the beginning of the year, Al Kholifey said in 2020 Budget Forum in Riyadh.

Mortgage lending now has the same share of the portfolio as consumer loans.

Credit extended from banks and for small and medium facilities grew by 8% to 6.2%, which was 2% higher than two years earlier.

Lending for four private sector activities rose to 6%, or 30% of gross domestic product (GDP), while liquidity in banking sector remained buoyant, SAMA governor said.