UAE.. Banking assets rise to 5.57 trillion dirhams and credit to 2.72 trillion dirhams by the end of April

The total assets of the banking sector in the UAE, including bank acceptances, increased by 0.2% to reach 5.57 trillion dirhams by the end of April 2026, compared to 5.556 trillion dirhams at the end of last March, according to the Monetary and Banking Developments Report for April issued by the Central Bank.

The report showed an increase in total bank credit by 25.2 billion dirhams, or 0.9%, to reach about 2.721 trillion dirhams at the end of April, compared to 2.695 trillion dirhams at the end of March.

All major sectors contributed positively to this growth, with the exception of other financial institutions, which did not record any net contribution during the month.

The increase in total credit was driven by an increase in domestic credit by 18.5 billion dirhams. The main driver of this growth was the increase in credit granted to the private sector, especially to individuals, as it rose by about 6.2 billion dirhams, contributing about 0.3 percentage points to the growth of domestic credit, supported mainly by housing loans, followed by personal consumer loans.

Credit granted to government-related entities also increased by 7.7 billion dirhams, or 2.3%, contributing about 0.4 percentage points to the growth of local credit, while credit granted to both the government and corporate sectors recorded positive contributions, each adding 0.1 percentage points to the monthly increase in local credit.

On the deposit side, bank deposits rose 0.7% to reach 3.469 trillion dirhams at the end of April, compared to 3.446 trillion dirhams at the end of March.

This growth was entirely driven by an increase in resident deposits by 0.7% to 3.162 trillion dirhams, while non-resident deposits stabilized at 307.6 billion dirhams.

The private sector recorded the largest contribution to the growth of residents’ deposits, as its deposits increased by 1.4% to reach 2.31 trillion dirhams, adding about one percentage point to the overall monthly growth. Government sector deposits also increased by 4.6% to reach 446.8 billion dirhams, contributing about 0.6 percentage points to the growth of residents’ deposits.

On the other hand, deposits of government-related entities declined by 6.6% to 339.3 billion dirhams, reducing growth by about 0.8 percentage points. Deposits of other financial institutions also decreased by 6.6% to 65.6 billion dirhams, deducting about an additional 0.1 percentage point from growth.

Regarding monetary aggregates, the money supply (M1) decreased by 0.8% from 1.072 trillion dirhams at the end of March to 1.064 trillion dirhams at the end of April, as a result of a decline in cash deposits by 0.9%, or the equivalent of 8 billion dirhams, and a decrease in the currency in circulation outside banks by 0.2%, or about 0.4 billion dirhams.

In contrast, the money supply (M2) stabilized at 2.87 trillion dirhams, compared to 2.869 trillion dirhams at the end of March, as the increase in private sector deposits from individuals and companies offset the decrease in deposits of other financial institutions and government-linked entities.

The increase in corporate deposits contributed by about 0.7 percentage points to the monthly growth of money supply (M2), while the decline in deposits of government-related entities reduced growth by 0.8 percentage points.

The money supply (M3) also stabilized at 3.407 trillion dirhams at the end of April, in light of the stability of government sector deposits at 537.4 billion dirhams.

The monetary base declined by 1.6% from 880.2 billion dirhams at the end of March to 865.8 billion dirhams at the end of April, as a result of a decrease in mandatory reserves by 26.3%, cash bills and Islamic certificates of deposit by 3.5%, in addition to a decrease in issued cash by 1.5%.

On the other hand, the 50.5% increase in current accounts and overnight deposits of banks and other financial institutions with the Central Bank limited the impact of this decline.

Banking operations data showed that the cumulative value of local financial transfers carried out through the Emirates Money Transfer System rose to 9.384 trillion dirhams by the end of April, that is, during the first four months of this year, distributed by about 5.7 trillion for transfers made by banks, and about 3.68 trillion for transfers made by dealers.

During April, the value of transfers amounted to 2.723 trillion dirhams, distributed by 1.645 trillion dirhams for bank transfers and 1.078 trillion for customer transfers.

On the other hand, the monthly statistical bulletin of the Central Bank showed that the gold balance at the Central Bank increased by about 2% during last April to 40.816 billion dirhams, compared to about 40 billion at the end of the previous March.