Slower annual growth

Central Bank’s portfolio of foreign assets end year at $32.2 billion, up by 5.3 percent from end-2010

The Central Bank's interim balance sheet stood at $70.3 billion at the end of 2011 compared to $62.6 billion at end- 2010.

Assets in foreign currencies reached $32.24 billion at the end of the year, rising by $1.63 billion from the end of 2010. The yearly growth in the Central Bank’s foreign currency assets was slower in 2011. Assets in foreign currencies had grown by $2.3 billion in 2010 and by $8.5 billion in 2009.

The value of gold reserves rose by 10.7 percent from the end of 2010. The value of the Central Bank’s gold reserves had reached an all-time high of $16.75 billion at end-August, due to the rise in global gold prices, but then fell by 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of the year.

The Central Bank’s securities portfolio amounted to $11.6 billion at the end of 2011, constituting a yearly increase of 20.5 percent. The Central Bank purchased Treasury bills during last year to make up for the decreased market demand on T-bills.

The Central Bank’s loans to the financial sector rose to $1.4 billion in 2011, posting a yearly increase of 84.7 percent. Deposits of the financial sector reached $49 billion at the end of the year, up by 14.6 percent from end-2010. These deposits grew by $2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 alone.

The public sector deposits at the Central Bank stood at $5.3 billion at the end of last year, down by 14.3 percent y-o-y.