CBB Reviews 2026 Performance as Money Supply, Deposits and Lending Rise

TDT | Manama | Email : online@newsofbahrain.com 

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) held its second meeting of 2026 under the chairmanship of Hassan Khalifa Al Jalahma, Chairman of the Board.

During the meeting, the board reviewed key agenda items, including updates on the CBB’s strategic priorities, the loan deferral and liquidity support programme, and major achievements recorded during the year. Board Member Khalid Humaidan presented the latest developments, while members also reviewed the Currency Swap Agreement signed with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the CBB’s Artificial Intelligence strategy.

The board examined monetary and banking indicators up to April 2026, which reflected continued growth across several sectors. Money supply increased by BD1.4 billion to reach BD18.1 billion at the end of April 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

Private deposits held by retail banks rose by 8.8% year-on-year to BD14.7 billion, while total loans and credit facilities extended to resident economic sectors increased by 8.5% to BD13.4 billion. The business sector accounted for 40.8% of total lending, while the personal sector represented 46.6%.

The balance sheet of Bahrain’s banking system, including retail and wholesale banks, reached USD254 billion at the end of April 2026, marking a 3.8% increase compared with the same period last year.

The board also reviewed payment data, which showed that point-of-sale transactions totalled 82.3 million between January and April 2026, with contactless payments accounting for 75.5% of all transactions. The total value of transactions reached BD1.5 billion, of which 52.3% were contactless.

In the banking sector, the capital adequacy ratio stood at 20.8% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 20.6% a year earlier. Capital adequacy ratios reached 25.2% for conventional retail banks, 17.4% for conventional wholesale banks, 25.7% for Islamic retail banks and 17.3% for Islamic wholesale banks.

The board also reviewed the performance of Collective Investment Undertakings (CIUs). The number of registered CIUs increased to 1,747 by March 2026, while total net asset value reached USD10.93 billion. Shari’a-compliant CIUs recorded significant growth, with net asset value rising by 24.65% to USD2.498 billion compared with USD2.004 billion in the first quarter of 2025.