Mubasher: Kuwaiti banking sector's deposits grew by KWD 656 million or 1.5% year-on-year (YoY) to approach KWD 43.6 billion in November 2019, Kuwait Finance House (KFH) said in a recent report, citing data from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK).   

Meanwhile, banking credit rose by more than 4.7% YoY, with total credit balances registering KWD 38.3 billion.  

The rise in deposits was driven by a growth in government deposits by 14% or KWD 882 million to KWD 7.2 billion, while private sector deposits declined by 0.6% or KWD 226 million to KWD 36.4 billion. 

Month-on-month (MoM), total deposits inched down by 0.1% or KWD 54.5 million in November 2019, dragged by slightly lower private sector deposits by 0.5% or KWD 201 million, whereas government deposits increased by 2.1% or KWD 146 million. The granted credit edged lower by 0.3% monthly.

In the meantime, private sector deposits accounted for 83.5% of total deposits in November last year when compared to 85.3% a year earlier, while government sector deposits represented 16.5% of total deposits, up from 14.7% in the same month of 2018.    

Additionally, private sector local currency deposits slid by 0.8% YoY at KWD 33.7 billion, whereas the sector’s foreign currency deposits grew by 1.7% YoY at KWD 2.7 billion.