UAE Banks' Total Assets Exceed AED 4.3 Trillion By June 2024, CBUAE Confirms

Published: Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 15:54 [GST]

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) reported a 0.5% increase in total gross banks' assets, including bankers' acceptances, from AED4,287.0 billion at the end of May 2024 to AED4,310.2 billion by June 2024. This rise reflects a steady growth in the banking sector.

Gross credit saw a 1.1% increase, reaching AED2,100.9 billion by June 2024 from AED2,077.7 billion in May 2024. This growth was driven by a 0.8% rise in domestic credit and a significant 2.9% increase in foreign credit.

UAE Banks Hit AED 4.3T Assets in June '24

The expansion in domestic credit was attributed to increases of 1.4% and 1.0% in credit to the public sector and private sector respectively. These gains offset declines of 1.1% and 0.6% in government sector credit and non-banking financial institutions' credit.

Banks' deposits grew by 0.5%, from AED2,678.2 billion at the end of May to AED2,692.5 billion by June 2024. This growth was primarily due to an 8.4% rise in non-resident deposits, which overshadowed a slight decline of 0.1% in resident deposits.

Resident deposits fell due to reductions of 3.0% in government sector deposits and a minor decrease of 0.1% in government-related entities' deposits. However, private sector deposits increased by 0.4%, and non-banking financial institutions' deposits rose by 6.6%.

Money Supply Aggregates

The money supply aggregate M1 increased by 0.6%, reaching AED884.1 billion at the end of June from AED879.2 billion at the end of May 2024, driven by a AED7.3 billion rise in monetary deposits despite a AED2.4 billion reduction in currency circulation outside banks.

M2 also saw an increase of 0.4%, rising from AED2,160.3 billion at the end of May to AED2,169.4 billion by June due to higher M1 and an additional AED4.2 billion in Quasi-Monetary Deposits.

M3 experienced a modest growth of 0.1%, increasing from AED2,629.7 billion at the end of May to AED2,632.0 billion by June due to M2's growth despite a reduction of AED6.8 billion in government deposits.

Foreign Assets

The CBUAE's foreign assets surpassed the AED770 billion mark for the first time by June's end, increasing by 0.5% from AED766.73 billion in May to AED770.6 billion in June 2024—a rise equivalent to AED3.88 billion.

Year-on-year (YoY), foreign assets grew significantly by 30%, reaching AED592.11 billion in June 2023—an increase of about AED178.5 billion YoY.

This surge was attributed to higher bank balances and deposits with foreign banks amounting to AED533.86 billion, an increase in foreign securities to AED179.72 billion, and other foreign assets exceeding AED57 billion by June's end.

The CBUAE clarified that its foreign assets exclude its Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Holdings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Balance Sheet Overview

The balance sheet of the CBUAE reached AED806.39 billion at the end of June—a YoY increase of 24.2% compared to AED649.4 billion in June 2023—marking an increase of AED157 billion YoY.

According to statistics, cash and bank balances amounted to AED352.79 billion; investments were recorded at AED206.43 billion; deposits stood at AED208.78 billion; loans and advances were noted at AED1.71 billion; while other assets totaled AED36.

billion.

On the liabilities side, current and deposit accounts were distributed at AED396.

billion; monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit accounted for AED226.

billion; currency notes and coins issued stood at

AED145.

billion; capital and reserves were recorded at

AED26.

billion; with other liabilities totaling

AED10.

billion.

The report highlights steady growth across various banking metrics for June

2024