Majed Al-Khaldi from Riyadh
The Bank deposits in Saudi Arabia recorded growth last May for the fourth month in a row, as they increased with the support of the growth of total demand deposits, "free deposits", whether for individuals, companies, or government agencies.
According to the monitoring unit of the reports in the "Al-Iqtisadiya" newspaper, based on data from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency "SAMA", total deposits in May recorded a growth of 1.8 percent "32.49 billion riyals" on a monthly basis, bringing the total deposits to the level of 1.86 trillion riyals, compared About 1.83 trillion for the previous month.
On the deposits of individuals and the total companies "on-demand, savings and foreign", they rose 1.6% on a monthly basis, and they constitute about 74.1% of the total bank deposits.
While deposits of government agencies in all categories increased by 2.4% on a monthly basis in May, which constitutes about 22% of bank deposits.
On an annual basis, bank deposits grew 10.4 percent compared to May 2019, when they were in the range of 1.68 trillion riyals, meaning that deposits increased by 175.13 billion riyals in 12 months.
Deposits of individuals and companies grew on an annual basis with all categories of about 5.3 percent, while government agency deposits grew by about 30 percent after the marked increase in April and May.
On the other hand, deposits with Saudi banks are divided into three main types, which are demand deposits, time and savings deposits, in addition to a third type called other quasi-cash deposits, including 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 16 percent in May on an annual basis to reach about 1.228 trillion riyals, and they constitute about 66 percent of total bank deposits compared to 62.5 percent for the same period in 2019.
Corporate and individual deposits account for about 87.9% of demand deposits, while government agency deposits constitute only 12.1%.
Historically, bank deposits grew 7.3 percent over the past year 2019 compared to 2018, marking the highest annual growth in deposits since 2014.
The growth of bank deposits in Saudi Arabia improved for the second year in a row from the lowest annual growth achieved in 2017, "the lowest rate of growth according to data available since 1992", but the growth rates are still lower than the average of the previous ten years, which exceeded 10 percent For the period "2005-2014".
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency "Sama" had announced earlier, pumping 50 billion riyals to enhance liquidity in the banking sector and enable it to continue to provide credit facilities to the private sector, while the Ministry of Finance approved last April to accelerate the payment of dues to the private sector, to alleviate the repercussions Corona Virus.
Economic Reports Unit
