By: El-Sayed Gamal 

Riyadh – Mubasher: Banks operating in Saudi Arabia have increased their investments in government-issued bonds by 20.2% year-on-year (YoY) in May 2020, equivalent to SAR 70.65 billion.

Total bank investments in Saudi bonds came at SAR 420.11 billion last May, compared with SAR 349.46 billion in the corresponding month in 2019, as shown by data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA).

On a monthly basis, Saudi bank investments in government bonds levelled up by 1.7% or SAR 6.99 billion from SAR 413.11 billion in April. 

Furthermore, over the first five months of 2020, banks purchased SAR 36.43 billion worth of bonds, the statement noted. 

By May-end, banks’ liabilities from the public sector surged by 18.2% YoY, reaching SAR 481.09 billion from SAR 406.95 billion, with Saudi banks’ investments in bonds accounting for 87.3% of the total liabilities.