Bank deposits in Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 7.3 percent, equivalent to 122.5 billion riyals in 2019, bringing total deposits to 1.796 trillion riyals, compared to about 1.674 trillion riyals at the end of 2018.
According to the monitoring unit of the reports in the "Al-Iqtisadiya" newspaper, based on SAMA data, deposits grew at the highest pace in nearly five years, as deposits grew in 2018 by 2.5 percent and 0.2 percent in 2017, and grew by 0.8 percent in 2016, bringing the growth rate in 2017 at least according to the available data since 1992.
Although the growth of bank deposits in Saudi Arabia improved for the second year in a row from the lowest annual growth in 2017, the growth rates are still lower than the average of the past ten years at 14 percent from "2005-2014".
The improvement comes by supporting the growth of deposits of individuals and companies of all kinds "in demand, savings, foreign", as it grew 4.6 percent, constituting about 75.2 percent of total bank deposits, while government deposits in all categories grew 18 percent, forming about 22.6 percent.
Deposits with Saudi banks are divided into three main types, namely, demand deposits, time and savings deposits, in addition to a third type called other semi-cash deposits, which include deposits in foreign currency, deposits against documentary credits and existing transfers, as well as repo operations implemented with the private sector.
Demand deposits "free deposits" grew by about 5.6 percent, forming 61.2 percent of total bank deposits, equivalent to about 1.099 trillion riyals, thanks to the growth of demand deposits for companies and individuals, as 91.8 percent of demand deposits are corporate and individual deposits, while Government deposits make up only 8.2 percent.
According to the monthly performance, the bank deposits of banks operating in Saudi Arabia during December grew by 7.3 percent, the highest monthly growth since 2015, and continued to grow on an annual basis for the 16th consecutive month.
* Economic Reports Unit
