Abu Dhabi: The value of loans taken in Saudi Arabia in the first and second quarters grew 106 times compared to the same period last year, local media reported.
Loans reached SR14.6 billion at the end of the second quarter, compared to only SR118 million at the end of the same period of 2020, at the beginning of COVID-19 outbreak.
On a quarterly basis, loans related to real estate repair and improvement, autos, personal transportation and health care all decreased, while loans for furniture, durable goods, education, tourism and travel increased.
According to the monthly data of Saudi Central Bank, the value of cumulative consumer loans at the end of the second quarter of this year amounted to SR394.183 billion, the highest level since the end of 2016, and an increase on an annual basis equivalent to SR58.412 billion, a growth rate of 17.4 per cent compared to the end of the second quarter of last year, which reached SR335,771 billion at the end of the second quarter of last year.
At the end of the second quarter of this year, the value of net consumer loans recorded the highest value since the end of the third quarter of last year, which witnessed the easing of restrictions and measures to combat the coronavirus and the recovery of the purchasing movement, and net loans amounted to SR16.487 billion at the end of the period.
During the second quarter of this year and compared to the previous quarter, loans related to the restoration and improvement of real estate decreased by SR1.589 billion, and loans for cars and personal transportation by about SR296 million, as well as health care loans by the equivalent of SR7 million. On the other hand, loans for furniture and durable goods grew by SR227 million, education by SR244 million, tourism and travel loans by SR3 million, and other loans category by SR16.063 billion.
