Forex reserve jumps in Q1

Bahrain’s foreign exchange reserves jumped to BD1105.9 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019 from BD530.7m in the same quarter a year ago. The Central Bank of Bahrain shared the figures in a statement released yesterday.

 Data released by the top bank showed that the Kingdom’s Money supply (M3) increased significantly, reaching BD13.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019 compared to BD12.4bn in the year-ago quarter.

“Financial sector performance data continues to improve in line with the developments in the Kingdom’s economic and financial conditions,” the statement said.

POS transactions up 13.7pc

Credit card and debit card transactions in the Kingdom across Point of Sales (POS) terminals reached a record high, totalling BD560.5m during q1 compared to BD493.0m during Q1 2018, an increase of 13.7 per cent.

The total balance sheet of the banking system increased 9.7pc from BD71.1bn at the end of the first quarter of 2018 to BD78.0bn at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

The total value of outstanding loans and credit facilities provided by retail banks amounted to BD9623.2m in Q1 compared to BD8986.8m at the end of the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 7.1pc. This amount includes loans and facilities provided to institutions amounting to BD5092.8m at the end of the first quarter of this year compared to BD4748.2m at the end of the same period last year.

Capital adequacy at 18.2pc

The capital adequacy index for the banking system as at end of March 2019 stands at 18.2pc compared to 18.8pc at the end of March 2018, which is well above the Central Bank of Bahrain’s minimum requirement of 12.5pc.

Non-performing loans for the banking sector remained stable at 5.6pc during the same period.

Bahrain index up 7.2pc

As for the Bahrain Bourse indicators, Bahrain All-Share Index increased from 1318.40 points at the end of Q1 2018 to 1413.32 points at the end of the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 7.2pc.

The market value of the Bourse stands at BD8667.9m compared to BD8084.5m at the end of the same period of 2018, a growth rate of 7.2pc.

Surplus in goods value

The preliminary balance of payments data for the first quarter of 2019 indicates a surplus in the balance of goods value of BD209.4m compared to a deficit of BD52.5m dinars during the first quarter of last year.

The data also indicates a decrease in the value of remittances from BD305.9m during the first quarter of 2018 to BD238.9m dinars during the same period of 2019.

As a result, the balance of payments achieved a surplus during the first quarter of 2019 amounting to 406.2m compared to a deficit of BD349.9m during the first quarter of 2018.