Abu Dhabi, UAE – July 23, 2025: The total banking sector assets in the UAE, including bankers’ acceptances, rose to over AED 4.749 trillion at the end of April 2025, reflecting a 0.6% month-on-month increase from approximately AED 4.719 trillion in March, according to the latest Monetary & Banking Developments – April 2025 report released by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
Bank Credit and Deposits Grow
Total bank credit grew by 0.9% to AED 2.259 trillion, compared to AED 2.240 trillion at the end of March. This was driven by an AED 12.3 billion increase in domestic credit and an AED 7.1 billion rise in foreign credit.
Domestic credit expansion was supported by:
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A 0.7% rise in credit to the government sector
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A 1.2% increase in credit to public sector entities (GREs)
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A 0.6% uptick in credit to the private sector
Conversely, credit to non-banking financial institutions declined sharply by 4.3%.
Bank deposits climbed by 1% month-on-month, reaching AED 2.965 trillion. This was attributed to a modest 0.1% increase in resident deposits to AED 2.689 trillion, and a significant 10.9% surge in non-resident deposits to AED 275.6 billion.
Within resident deposits:
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Government deposits increased by 0.9%
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Private sector deposits rose by 1.1%
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Non-banking financial institutions’ deposits dropped by 9.2%
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Government-related entities’ deposits fell by 6.5%
Monetary Aggregates Mixed
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M1 increased by 2.6% to AED 1.0119 trillion, driven by a AED 26.9 billion rise in monetary deposits, despite a AED 1.2 billion dip in currency in circulation outside banks.
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M2 fell marginally by 0.1% to AED 2.435 trillion due to a AED 27.8 billion decrease in quasi-monetary deposits.
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M3 rose by 0.2% to AED 2.8982 trillion, supported by a AED 6.6 billion increase in government deposits.
Monetary Base and Foreign Assets
The monetary base shrank by 1.7% to AED 819 billion, primarily due to:
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A 2.5% drop in issued currency
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A steep 32% fall in reserve accounts
These declines were partially offset by a 159.8% surge in current accounts and overnight deposits held by banks and financial institutions at the central bank, and a 3.1% increase in monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit.
CBUAE’s foreign assets edged up to AED 937.5 billion at the end of April, from AED 935.2 billion in March. These included:
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AED 403.2 billion in bank balances and deposits abroad
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AED 490.1 billion in foreign securities
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AED 44.1 billion in other foreign assets
CBUAE Balance Sheet Snapshot
As of April-end, the Central Bank’s total balance sheet stood at AED 972.3 billion.
Liabilities and capital comprised:
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AED 449.1 billion in current and deposit accounts
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AED 279.9 billion in monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit
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AED 165.2 billion in currency in circulation
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AED 33.2 billion in other liabilities
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AED 45 billion in capital and reserves
Assets included:
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AED 210.9 billion in cash and bank balances
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AED 208 billion in deposits
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AED 516.8 billion in investments
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AED 0.5 billion in loans and advances
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AED 36.2 billion in other assets
