Qatari banks provisions up 1.5 pct in March

Provisions made by Qatari banks rose 1.5 per cent month-on-month in March, after a 0.1 per cent increase in the previous month, while credit growth slowed sharply, the Gulf country's central bank data showed on Monday.

Some Qatari banks took high provisions in the past due to exposure to debt-laden Saudi family firms, while the government intervened massively to keep the sector stable last year.

Total provisions in the world's largest natural gas exporter reached 6.0 billion riyals ($1.65bn) at the end of March, while bank loans rose 0.7 per cent month-on-month to 254.2bn riyals, following a 7.4 per cent jump in February.

Specific loan provisions rose 4.3 per cent month-on-month to 2.9bn riyals at the end of March, data showed.

Major Qatari banks reported mixed results in the first quarter with some still feeling impacts of the global credit crunch.

In the latest set of results, Commercial Bank of Qatar announced on Thursday a 36.7 per cent fall in quarterly profit, while Doha Bank reported a 4.5 per cent net profit drop.

The Qatari government spent about 6.5 per cent of gross domestic product last year on capital injections and other measures to maintain stability in the sector.

Total assets in the country's banking sector grew 4.7 per cent to 487.3bn riyals, the data showed.