Manama: The Central Bank of Bahrain's (CBB) Board of Directors convened for its initial meeting of 2025, with Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahm presiding over the session. The board addressed several agenda items, including the approval of the CBB's annual report and audited financial statements for 2024. Additionally, the board deliberated on the CBB's 2025 investment policy and evaluated the bank's activities up to this point in the year.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the board examined significant monetary and banking indicators from 2024. The money supply saw an increase of BD0.3 billion, reaching BD 16.3 billion by the end of December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. Total private deposits in retail banks rose to approximately BD14.2 billion, marking a 0.4% increase by the end of December 2024 compared to the previous year.
The total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors grew to BD12.3 billion by December 2024, reflecting a 4.6% increase from the end of 2023. The Business Sector accounted for 42.3% and the Personal Sector 48.3% of these loans and credit facilities. The banking system's balance sheet, encompassing both retail and wholesale sector banks, expanded to $247.8 billion in December 2024, a 3.9% rise from the previous year.
Point of Sales (POS) data for January 2025 indicated a total of 21.2 million transactions, with 77.4% being contactless, an increase of 25.4% from January 2024. The total value of POS transactions for January 2025 amounted to BD 433.0 million, with 51.9% being contactless, a 14.6% increase from the same month in 2024.
The banking sector maintained robust capital adequacy and liquidity levels, with the capital adequacy ratio reaching 21.2% in Q4 2024, compared to 19.7% in Q4 2023. The capital adequacy ratios were 32.0% for conventional retail banks, 16.9% for conventional wholesale banks, 24.6% for Islamic retail banks, and 19.6% for Islamic wholesale banks in Q4 2024.
The number of registered Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs) totaled 1,741 as of January 2025, up from 1,678 in January 2024. The net asset value (NAV) of CIUs increased from US $11.139 billion in Q4 2023 to US $11.170 billion in Q4 2024, an increment of 0.3%. However, the NAV of Bahrain domiciled CIUs decreased from US $4.309 billion in Q4 2023 to US $4.268 billion in Q4 2024, showing a 1% decrease.