The total balance sheet of the banks reached $118 billion at the end of February, up from $115 billion at the end of 2009.

Deposits grew to $97 billion by the end of February. The growth in deposits was triggered by a growth in deposits in the local currency which grew by $1.3 billion in two months to $35 billion.

Foreign currency deposits dropped $1.1 billion to $61.7 billion and the dollarization rate on deposits fell to 63.58 percent at the end of February from 63.5 percent at the end of 2009.

Loans grew by $1.5 billion to $30 billion. “This growth is noteworthy compared to a period of deleverage across the globe,” said Bank Audi. Dollarization rate on loans also dropped slightly to 83.75 percent, compared to 84 percent at the of December.

Total net profits of the commercial banks reached $199 million at February 31, an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period last year.