Banks backed it with 8 billion dirhams in the largest quarterly increase in 5 years

The return of demand for consumer loans to individuals during the first quarter

The cumulative balance of personal loans for consumer purposes reached 333.9 billion dirhams at the end of March.

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Consumer loans to individuals rose again in the first quarter of this year, after declining during the last three quarters of last year, due to the Corona pandemic.

Banks supported consumer spending with loans and financing amounting to 8.1 billion dirhams, the largest quarterly increase in nearly five years.

During the past year, consumer loans declined significantly, which reflects the conservatism of banks, in addition to the decline in demand from individuals themselves.

Yesterday, data released by the Central Bank revealed that the cumulative balance of personal loans for consumer purposes amounted to 333.9 billion dirhams at the end of last March, compared to 325.8 billion dirhams, at the end of December 2020, an increase of 8.1 billion dirhams during a three-month period, equivalent to a growth of 2.5%.

The data also revealed that the total holdings of the Central Bank of gold bars within its assets amounted to 10.8 billion dirhams by the end of the first quarter of this year.

In addition, the banking expert, Sheikha Al-Ali, said that the recovery from the effects of the Corona pandemic has been evident since the beginning of this year, as banks have eased strict lending standards for individuals, as well as that the same demand for financing increased compared to nine months between March and December 2020. .

Al-Ali added: “There were great concerns among individuals about consumer spending, and the patterns changed to a large extent, and focus began to focus on priorities, and away from unnecessary things, but the situation has stabilized to a certain extent, and business and activities started to return, in addition to the decline in fears about the continuation of the pandemic. , With the largest percentage of the country's population taking the anti-Corona vaccine.

She stated that the Central Bank strongly supported banks and encouraged them to support individuals in turn and move the market, pointing out that consumer spending is undoubtedly an important part of the economic cycle, and many service and commercial sectors are behind it.

She explained that interest rates and financing are also competitive and low, as banks offer various offers in this aspect, which stimulated demand and set it back to grow again.

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