The banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries continued to record improvement in its financial results during the first quarter of 2022, supported by the strong economic recovery and increased demand after the pandemic. This is supported by the contribution of the increase in oil prices since the beginning of the year to boosting growth rates and business confidence.
According to a recent report, governments across the region have boosted economic investment plans with the support of increasing oil revenues, which supported the results of the Gulf banking sector. Governments referred to the contribution of facilitating monetary policies in the region and the world that were implemented last year with the aim of promoting investments, in supporting investment in business activities.
According to the report, the return on shareholders' equity of Gulf banks reached its highest levels recorded in eight quarterly periods, on the back of reducing costs and reducing provisions. The report revealed that the net profit of the Gulf banking sector rose to $10.9 billion in the first quarter of this year. According to the report, bank profits in 5 of the 6 Gulf countries recorded double-digit growth, while Kuwait recorded a slightly lower growth rate of 9.0 percent, while the annual performance also showed good growth in profits across all markets.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
