Deposits in Saudi banks hit a record level of nearly SR1.5 trillion by the end of June, or an increase of 744 percent compared to figures of 1992 which stood at SR177 billion, according to a financial report.

The Saudi banks pay no interest on SR939 billion, or nearly 63 percent of total deposits, which are categorized as demand deposits, said the report, compiled and analyzed by Al-Eqtisadiyah daily.

Deposits in Saudi banks are grouped into three major types: demand deposits, time (saving) deposits and semi-cash deposits, the report said.

The volume of demand deposits in the Saudi banks stood at SR939.1 billion by the end of June, of which SR880.4 billion were owned by individuals and companies, or 94 percent, while the remaining SR58.6 billion, or 6 percent, were owned by government agencies, the report said.

Time (saving) deposits accounted for 24 percent of total deposits in the Saudi banks at the value of SR360.2 billion, of which SR176.5 billion and SR183.7 billion were owned by individuals/companies and government agencies, respectively, the report said.

The third type of deposits, which are termed quasi-cash deposits, are composed of deposits in hard currencies made by residents, deposits for letter of credits, outstanding remittances, and repo (sale and repurchase) transactions carried out by the banks with the private sector firms.

This type of deposits accounted for 13 percent of total deposits in the Saudi banks at the value of SR196.2 billion by the end of June, according to the report.

In the last 23 years (1992-2014), deposits in the Saudi banks continued to grow steadily to hit the record of SR1495.5bn in June, 2014, compared to SR1495.4 billion in May of the same year.

Year-on-year basis, deposits grew by 13 percent in June (2014) by SR168 billion compared to figures of June, 2013, which stood at SR1327.5billion, the report said.

The huge deposits have reportedly helped the Saudi banks to increase their lending capacity and, eventually, led them to achieve record profits year after year reaching some SR 38bn by the end of last year.

Additionally, the Saudi banks achieved profits of nearly SR 21.7bn in the first half of the current year (2014) and, even, poised to achieve new record profits that may exceed SR 42bn by the end of the year, the report said.