Qatar’s banking assets remained broadly stable in July, while lending continued to expand across several major sectors. Total assets reached QR2.194 trillion during the month, according to the latest banking sector data. The figure remained unchanged from June, while increasing 2 percent compared with December 2025. Meanwhile, the sector recorded stronger loan growth despite a noticeable decline in overall deposits.
The banking sector’s loan portfolio increased 0.6 percent during July, reaching QR1.482 trillion. Since the beginning of 2026, lending has therefore grown by 3.2 percent overall. Public-sector borrowing provided the main support for this monthly increase, while private-sector lending remained relatively subdued. Consequently, government-related financing played a larger role in the sector’s latest expansion.
Public-sector loans increased 1.3 percent during July, although they remained below their December 2025 level. Government loans rose 0.7 percent during the month and stood 15.8 percent above their year-end figure. Lending to government institutions also increased by 1.6 percent during July. However, that category remained 18 percent below its December level, despite the monthly improvement.
Semi-government institutions also contributed to the overall increase in public-sector borrowing. Their loans climbed 2.1 percent during July, while remaining 20 percent above their year-end level. These figures indicate continued financing activity among government-linked entities. At the same time, private-sector lending showed a more restrained performance throughout the month.
Private-sector lending remained broadly unchanged in July and stood 1 percent above its December level. Retail lending declined by 1 percent during the month, reflecting weaker borrowing activity among consumers. In contrast, real estate financing increased 0.7 percent during the same period. Other private-sector lending categories generally maintained stable levels throughout July.
Loans extended outside Qatar continued to show stronger momentum during the month. Such lending increased 1.7 percent in July and surged 58.6 percent compared with December 2025. This growth highlights continued expansion in banks’ international lending activity. However, domestic lending patterns remained more mixed across public and private borrowers.
While lending increased, total deposits moved in the opposite direction during July. Deposits declined 3.2 percent month-on-month, reaching approximately QR1.070 trillion. Despite this monthly contraction, deposits remained 2.5 percent higher than their December 2025 level. Public-sector deposits accounted for most of the monthly decline across the banking system.
Public-sector deposits fell 8.7 percent during July, leaving them only slightly above their year-end position. Government deposits declined 2.1 percent and remained 11.2 percent below December’s level. Deposits belonging to government institutions dropped 13.9 percent during the month. Meanwhile, semi-government deposits declined only 0.9 percent and remained substantially above their year-end figure.
Private-sector deposits also decreased, falling 1 percent during July. Nevertheless, they remained 3.1 percent higher than their December 2025 level. Company and institutional deposits declined 2 percent during the month. Consumer deposits, however, remained unchanged and stayed 5.2 percent above their year-end position.
Non-resident deposits provided some support against the broader decline in deposits. They increased 2.6 percent during July and stood 4.3 percent above December’s level. Their share of total deposits remained relatively stable at 19.1 percent. The figure compared with 18.8 percent at the end of 2025.
The combination of rising lending and declining deposits pushed the reported loan-to-deposit ratio higher. The ratio reached 139 percent in July, compared with 133 percent in June. It also exceeded the 137 percent recorded at the end of 2025. However, the central bank’s methodology produces a different measure using stable funding sources.
Under that methodology, the ratio remains comfortably below the regulatory threshold of 100 percent. Therefore, the headline ratio does not indicate an immediate regulatory concern for Qatar’s banking sector. Meanwhile, liquidity conditions remained strong throughout July despite the movement in deposits.
Liquid assets accounted for 30 percent of total banking assets during July. That proportion remained unchanged from May, June, and December 2025. Asset quality indicators also remained stable, suggesting limited deterioration across the loan portfolio. Provisions against gross loans stood at 3.8 percent during the month.
The provision ratio remained unchanged from June and improved from 4 percent at year-end 2025. Furthermore, loan-loss provisions remained broadly stable during July. They were also 1.7 percent lower than the level recorded at the end of 2025. Overall, banking assets continued to show stability alongside steady lending and strong liquidity.
