Qatar’s banking sector performance to remain resilient in 2026

Doha, Qatar: Qatar s banking sector will continue to remain resilient in this year and the rapid growth of LNG production will benefit the country....

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s banking sector will continue to remain resilient in this year and the rapid growth of LNG production will benefit the country.

Highlighting the Qatari banks’ resilience through 2026, S&P Global Ratings report released yesterday noted that over the coming year,“we anticipate continued strong capitalisation and adequate liquidity; modest declines in profit margins due to interest rate cuts and taxes; and somewhat muted growth, despite expectation of a rapid expansion of liquified natural gas (LNG) production that will benefit the country’s headline growth and its budget and current account surpluses.

“We forecast that Qatar’s North Field Expansion project will increase LNG production by about 32% by 2027 and contribute to stronger real GDP growth of an average of 5% in 2026-2028, up from 2.7 percent growth in 2024-2025. Higher LNG production should have a positive spillover effect on government revenues and the non-hydrocarbon economy.

“However, we expect lending growth to remain at around 4% to 5% ,” it noted.

The rapid lending growth in recent years has been relatively concentrated in high-risk cyclical sectors, including real estate, real estate rental services, hotels, contracting, and commercial agencies and investment companies. These sectors account for just under 50% of total domestic credit. “Within these categories, we view commercial real estate as a potential source of new non-performing loans (NPLs),”it further said.