UAE gross bank credit up 3.3% at Dh1.6 trillion

abu dhabi — The UAE’s gross bank assets amounted to Dh2.8 trillion by the end of August 2018, 4 per cent up from Dh2.694 trillion by the end of December 2017, according to Central Bank of the UAE statistics.

Gross credit increased to around Dh1.633 trillion by the end of August, a growth of 3.3 per cent from Dh1.58 trillion during December last year.

Domestic loans received by the private sector rose from Dh1.086 trillion in December 2017 to around Dh1.123 trillion by the end of August, with credit provided to individuals amounting to Dh339 billion by the end of August from Dh337.5 billion from December. Total deposits amounted to Dh1.703 trillion in August, an increase of 4.6 per cent of Dh76 billion from Dh1.627 trillion in December 2017.

The ratio of total banks’ eligible liquid assets — which consist of cash in hand, liquid assets at the central bank and eligible bonds/ sukuks as prescribed by regulation 33/2015 and Basel principles but excludes interbank positions — hit 16.8 to total assets.

The growth recorded in gross credit reflects the robust financial solvency enjoyed by UAE banks as a result of the significant improvement recorded across all operating indicators during the first eight months of the year. Dh11.7B excess liquidity taken Meanwhile, the central bank withdrew Dh11.7 billion out of excess liquidity in the market during August after it met the market needs for cash in July, during which a total of Dh5.2 billion in cash was pumped in.

Recent statistics released by the bank indicated a rise in the total value of certificates of deposits from Dh121 billion by end of July to Dh132.7 billion by the end of August. During the first quarter, the central bank withdrew cash amounting to Dh2 billion in February, before pumping a total of Dh6 billion in March.

In April, up to Dh16 billion was injected to market before a total of Dh7 billion had been withdrawn in May, during which certificates of deposit hit Dh125.2 billion, an amount that remained unchanged in June. In July, up to Dh4 billion was pumped before a considerable amount of cash had been withdrawn in a move that ratcheted up certificates of deposit anew to Dh132.7 billion. —