Omani banks are expected to achieve a robust 8-10 per cent growth in credit this year, according to a top level official at the Central Bank of Oman. “We expect the credit growth to be similar to 2016, say in the range of 8-10 per cent,” Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman. “The development process will continue in Oman this year, although the government has reduced its involvement. There is more impetus on the private sector to take forward the development process. That will increase demand for credit,” added Al Zadjali.   Referring to non-performing loans of financial institutions, the CBO chief said such loans are under control. “At the end of 2016, the non-performing loans (as per cent of total loans) were below 2 per cent, say around 1.9 per cent, in the case of banks. The non-performing loans of non-banking finance companies also did not increase at a high level because these institutions are taking precautionary steps and managing the risks.” But, 2017 might be a slightly difficult year as “some of the big borrowers might not be getting their payments on time.” (Times of Oman)