Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Total assets of the UAE banking sector, including bankers’ acceptances, increased by 0.2 percent to Dh5.57 trillion at the end of April 2026, compared with Dh5.556 trillion at the end of March, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s Monetary and Banking Developments Report for April.
The report showed that gross bank credit rose by Dh25.2 billion, or 0.9 percent, to Dh2.721 trillion at the end of April, compared with Dh2.695 trillion at the end of March.
All major sectors contributed positively to this growth, except other financial corporations, which recorded no net contribution during the month.
The increase in gross credit was driven by a rise in domestic credit of Dh18.5 billion.
The main driver of this growth was higher lending to the private sector, particularly individuals, with credit increasing by Dh6.2 billion and contributing around 0.3 percentage points to domestic credit growth. This increase was mainly supported by housing loans, followed by personal consumer loans.
Credit to government-related entities increased by Dh7.7 billion, or 2.3 percent, contributing approximately 0.4 percentage points to domestic credit growth. Credit extended to both the government and corporate sectors also recorded positive contributions, each adding 0.1 percentage points to the monthly increase in domestic credit.
On the deposits side, bank deposits increased by 0.7 percent to Dh3.469 trillion at the end of April, compared with Dh3.446 trillion at the end of March.
This growth was entirely driven by a 0.7 percent increase in resident deposits to Dh3.162 trillion, while non-resident deposits remained broadly unchanged at Dh307.6 billion.
The private sector recorded the largest contribution to the growth in resident deposits, with deposits rising by 1.4 percent to Dh2.31 trillion, contributing around one percentage point to overall monthly growth.
Government sector deposits also increased by 4.6 percent to Dh446.8 billion, contributing around 0.6 percentage points to resident deposit growth.
In contrast, deposits of government-related entities declined by 6.6 percent to Dh339.3 billion, reducing growth by around 0.8 percentage points. Deposits of other financial corporations also fell by 6.6 percent to Dh65.6 billion, subtracting a further 0.1 percentage points from growth.
Regarding monetary aggregates, M1 decreased by 0.8 percent from Dh1.072 trillion at the end of March to Dh1.064 trillion at the end of April, due to a 0.9 percent decline in monetary deposits, equivalent to Dh8 billion, and a 0.2 percent decrease in currency in circulation outside banks, equivalent to around Dh0.4 billion.
Meanwhile, M2 remained broadly unchanged at Dh2.87 trillion compared with Dh2.869 trillion at the end of March, as higher deposits from private sector individuals and corporates offset declines in deposits of other financial corporations and government-related entities.
Corporate deposits contributed around 0.7 percentage points to monthly M2 growth, while the decline in government-related entity deposits reduced growth by around 0.8 percentage points.
M3 also remained broadly stable at Dh3.407 trillion at the end of April, while government deposits remained unchanged at Dh537.4 billion.
The monetary base declined by 1.6 percent from Dh880.2 billion at the end of March to Dh865.8 billion at the end of April, mainly due to a 26.3 percent decline in reserve requirements, a 3.5 percent decrease in monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit, and a 1.5 percent reduction in currency issued.
This decline was partly offset by a 50.5 percent increase in current accounts and overnight deposits held by banks and other financial corporations with the Central Bank.
Banking operations data showed that the cumulative value of domestic fund transfers executed through the UAE Funds Transfer System reached Dh9.384 trillion during the first four months of 2026.
Of this total, Dh5.7 trillion represented transfers conducted by banks and Dh3.68 trillion by customers.
During April alone, transfers amounted to Dh2.723 trillion, including Dh1.645 trillion conducted by banks and Dh1.078 trillion by customers.
Separately, the Central Bank’s monthly statistical bulletin showed that its gold holdings increased by around 2 percent during April to Dh40.816 billion, compared with Dh40 billion at the end of March.
