Muscat: The total value of loans disbursed across the Sultanate of Oman during 2025 amounted to RO 213.8 million, distributed among 7,106 projects. This marks a decline from the RO 234.9 million allocated to 7,398 projects in 2024, reflecting an annual decrease of approximately 9 percent.

According to Oman News Agency, the 2026 Statistical Yearbook issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) highlighted that the industrial sector led the beneficiary activities, receiving RO 71 million or 33.2 percent of the total lending. The tourism, professional, and public services sector followed with RO 66.3 million, representing 31 percent, while the fisheries sector received RO 31.6 million, or 14.8 percent. Notably, the mining sector saw a significant increase, rising from 0.7 percent in 2024 to 4.8 percent in 2025, with disbursements surpassing RO 10.3 million.

Regionally, the Governorates of South and North Al Batinah maintained the largest share of Oman Development Bank loans in 2025, accounting for 24.9 percent of total lending at RO 53.3 million, distributed over 1,617 projects. Muscat followed with 23.5 percent (RO 50.2 million) for 762 projects, and South and North A'Sharqiyah accounted for 16.6 percent (RO 35.5 million). A'Dakhiliyah Governorate held 9.3 percent, and Dhofar represented 9 percent of the loans.

The report also highlighted growth in the Governorate of Al Wusta, where its share increased from 3.6 percent in 2024 to 6.5 percent in 2025. Conversely, Al Buraimi recorded the lowest share among all governorates at 1.8 percent.

Additionally, there was an upward trend in housing finance, with total housing loans increasing from RO 145.1 million in 2024 to RO 151.8 million in 2025, marking an annual rise of over 4.6 percent. The number of beneficiaries also grew from 3,250 to 3,277.

South Al Batinah led in housing loan value with RO 40.4 million, representing 26.6 percent of the total, distributed across 902 loans. Muscat followed closely with RO 41.7 million-27.5 percent-allocated to 842 loans. North Al Batinah ranked third at 14.6 percent, followed by A'Dakhiliyah at 10.6 percent, while Musandam registered the lowest share at just 1.2 percent of total bank lending.

The data further revealed that the majority of Oman Housing Bank loans in 2025 were concentrated within the monthly income bracket of RO 701 to 1,000, accounting for 75.8 percent of total housing finance-equivalent to RO 115 million-distributed across 2,456 loans. The income category "up to RO 400" ranked second with 16.8 percent, while the "above RO 1,000" bracket made up only 6.7 percent of the total.