Qatar credit growth tops $274.6bn in 2020 says CB chief

Government efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect financing policy. (File/AFP)

• Doha is spending billions of dollars in preparation for hosting next year’s FIFA World Cup
• Coronavirus pressures will keep provisioning costs for Qatari banks high, said Moody’s in a report earlier this month

DUBAI: The Qatari central bank governor said domestic credit growth exceeded QR1 trillion ($274.57 billion) last year, shrugging off the impact of the pandemic.
Government efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect financing policy, the Qatar News Agency reported on Sunday.
Doha is spending billions of dollars in preparation for hosting next year’s FIFA World Cup which has seen the country’s big banks extend credit across the entire economy.
Despite the latest comments by the country’s central bank chief, coronavirus pressures will keep provisioning costs for Qatari banks high, said Moody’s in a report earlier this month.
“This will be driven by a slow economic recovery that will make it harder for borrowers in sectors such as real estate, construction and contracting to repay debt,” said Nitish Bhojnagarwala, vice president — senior credit officer at Moo