The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) reported a 0.5% rise in gross banks’ assets, including bankers’ acceptances, reaching Dh4.40 trillion at the end of September 2024, compared to Dh4.37 trillion recorded in August.
According to the Monetary & Banking Developments Report for September, gross credit rose by 2.3%, from Dh2.11 trillion to Dh2.16 trillion. The uptick was supported by a 1.6% increase in domestic credit and a sharp 6.9% rise in foreign credit. Domestic credit growth was driven by gains in various sectors, with credit to government-related entities expanding by 2.7%, the private sector by 1.5%, non-banking financial institutions by 1.8%, and the government sector by 0.4%.
The report also showed a 0.8% increase in total bank deposits, rising from Dh2.74 trillion to Dh2.76 trillion. Resident deposits contributed to this growth with a 0.8% increase, while non-resident deposits climbed 0.5%. Within resident deposits, significant increases were noted in government-related entities and non-banking financial institutions, which rose by 4.9% and 20.5%, respectively. This growth offset a 3.9% decline in government sector deposits.
On the monetary side, the CBUAE highlighted that money supply aggregates recorded steady growth. M1, which includes currency in circulation and monetary deposits, grew by 0.9%, reaching Dh896.3 billion, primarily due to an increase in cash outside banks and a rise in monetary deposits. Meanwhile, M2 expanded by 1.7%, driven by the growth in M1 and a substantial increase in quasi-monetary deposits of Dh30.0 billion. M3, the broadest measure of money supply, increased by 0.9%, with gains in M2 outweighing a notable Dh15.0 billion decline in government deposits.
The UAE’s monetary base also expanded by 1.2% to Dh743.5 billion by the end of September. This growth was fueled by a sharp 39.2% rise in banks’ and financial institutions’ overnight deposits at the central bank and a slight 1% increase in currency issuance, despite a 14.1% drop in reserve accounts. Monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit held steady at Dh240.9 billion.
