Gross Banks’ Assets Rise By 1.9% To AED 4,719.4 Billion At End Of March 2025, Reports CBUAE

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) reported a 0.4% rise in the M1 money supply, reaching AED986.2 billion by March 2025. This growth was attributed to a AED5.1 billion increase in currency circulating outside banks, which countered a AED1.4 billion drop in monetary deposits.

The M2 money supply saw a 3.3% increase, climbing to AED2,437.7 billion by the end of March 2025. This rise was driven by an increase in M1 and a significant AED73.8 billion boost in quasi-monetary deposits. Meanwhile, the M3 aggregate also grew by 2.9%, reaching AED2,893.7 billion due to the expansion of M2 and an additional AED4.5 billion in government deposits.

Banks' deposits experienced a 2.3% growth, totalling AED2,936.4 billion at the end of March 2025. This was due to resident deposits rising by 2.4% to AED2,687.8 billion and non-resident deposits increasing by 0.4% to AED248.6 billion.

Gross credit expanded by 1.6%, amounting to AED2,240.0 billion by March's end in 2025. This was due to domestic credit rising by AED19.5 billion and foreign credit increasing by AED16.2 billion.

Within domestic credit, there were increases across various sectors: public sector entities saw a 0.2% rise, private sector credit grew by 1.4%, and non-banking financial institutions experienced a 1.9% increase.

Monetary Base and Asset Developments

The monetary base increased by 2%, reaching AED833.1 billion at the end of March 2025, driven by a 4.1% rise in currency issuance and a substantial 62% increase in reserve accounts.

Gross banks' assets rose by 1.9%, totalling AED4,719.4 billion at March's close in 2025, including bankers’ acceptances.

Despite these gains, there were declines noted: banks & OFCs’ current accounts & overnight deposits at CBUAE fell by 64.2%, while monetary bills & Islamic certificates of deposit decreased by 6.3%. Additionally, government sector credit dropped slightly by 0.3%.

Resident deposit growth included notable increases: government-related entities' deposits rose by 4.3%, private sector deposits climbed by 3.1%, and non-banking financial institutions' deposits surged by 5.1%. However, government sector deposits declined by 2.3% as of March's end in 2025.

With inputs from WAM