Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 3 June 2019 – Financial sector performance data continues to improve in line with the developments in the Kingdom’s economic and financial conditions. Money supply (M3) increased significantly, reaching BD13.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019 compared to BD12.4 billion at the end of the first quarter of last year. The data also indicates that the Central Bank of Bahrain’s foreign exchange reserves increased from BD530.7 million at the end of the first quarter of 2018, to BD1105.9 million dinars at the end of the first quarter of 2019.

The data also indicates that credit card and debit card transactions across Point of Sales (POS) terminals reached a record high, totaling BD560.5 million during the first quarter of 2019 compared to BD493.0 million during the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 13.7%.

The total balance sheet of the banking system increased 9.7% from BD71.1 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2018 to BD78.0 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2019. The total value of outstanding loans and credit facilities provided by retail banks amounted to BD9623.2 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019 compared to BD8986.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 7.1%. This amount includes loans and facilities provided to institutions amounting to BD5092.8 million at the end of the first quarter of this year compared to BD4748.2 million at the end of the same period last year.

The capital adequacy index for the banking system as at end of March 2019 stands at 18.2% compared to 18.8% at the end of March 2018, which is well above the Central Bank of Bahrain’s minimum requirement of 12.5%. Non-performing loans for the banking sector remained stable at 5.6% during the same period.

As for the Bahrain Bourse indicators, the Bahrain All Share Index increased from 1318.40 points at the end of the first quarter of 2018 to 1413.32 points at the end of the first quarter of 2019, an increase of 7.2%. The market value of the Bourse stands at BD8667.9 million at the end of the first quarter of 2019 compared to BD8084.5 million at the end of the same period of 2018, a growth rate of 7.2%.

The preliminary balance of payments data for the first quarter of 2019 indicates a surplus in the balance of goods value of BD209.4 million compared to a deficit of BD52.5 million dinars during the first quarter of last year. The data also indicates a decrease in the value of remittances from BD305.9 million during the first quarter of 2018 to BD238.9 million 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 406.2 million compared to a deficit of BD349.9 million during the first quarter of 2018.