Islamic banking assets in UAE surpass $190.6b for first time ever at year-end 2023

The assets of Islamic banks operating in the UAE exceeded AED700 billion for the first time in history at the end of 2023, according to the latest statistics from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

The statistics showed that the assets of Islamic banks reached AED703.1b at the end of last December, an annual increase of 11.5%, compared to about AED630.7b at the end of December 2022, an increase of AED72.4b during 12 months, while it increased on a monthly basis by 0.6% or AED4.2b compared to about AED698.9b in November 2023.

The Central Bank's statistics showed that bank credit at Islamic banks rose to AED428.9 billion at the end of last December, an annual increase of 7.82 percent, compared to about AED397.8 billion in December 2022.

Deposits in Islamic banks rose to AED495.5 billion at the end of last December, an annual increase of about 12.6 percent, compared to about AED440 billion in December 2022, an increase of AED55.5 billion during 12 months, while it increased on a monthly basis by 0.9 percent against AED491.1 billion in last November.

According to the statistics, the total investments of Islamic banks reached AED132.7b at the end of last December, an annual increase of 27.1pc or AED28.3b, compared to investments of about AED104.4b in

December 2022, while it increased on a monthly basis by about 1pc compared to about AED131.4b in last November.

Islamic banks' investments were distributed as follows:

As for traditional banks operating in the country, their total assets reached AED3.372 trillion at the end of last December, an annual increase of 11 percent compared to about AED3.037 trillion in December 2022, an increase of AED335.2 billion during 12 months.

According to the statistics, traditional banks account for about 82.7 percent of the total assets of the banking system in the country at the end of last December, which amounted to AED4.075 trillion, compared to the share of Islamic banks, which amounted to 17.3 percent.