RIYADH: The UAE’s banking sector expanded modestly in April, with total banking assets rising to 4.75 trillion dirhams ($1.29 trillion), driven by higher lending and a sharp increase in non-resident deposits.
According to data from the Central Bank of the UAE, total assets, which include bankers’ acceptances, increased by 0.6 percent from March, continuing an upward trend amid resilient credit activity and growing liquidity.
This comes amid diverging banking trends across the Gulf, with Kuwait reporting a 6.7 percent year-on-year rise in total assets to 93.51 billion dinars ($303 billion) in March, and Saudi Arabia recording a 7.4 percent increase to SR5.3 trillion ($1.41 trillion) in April.
Qatar, meanwhile, recorded a marginal 0.1 percent monthly decline, with assets slipping to 2.07 trillion Qatari riyals ($558.9 billion) due mainly to a 0.5 percent drop in domestic holdings.
In its latest report, CBUAE said “the increase in money supply aggregate M1 (which includes physical currency and demand deposits) by 2.6 percent, from AED 986.2 billion at the end of March 2025 to AED 1,011.9 billion at the end of April 2025.”
