Arab News | UAE banks’ assets climb 11.8% YoY in Q3

RIYADH: Total assets held by banks operating in the UAE rose 11.8 percent year on year to 5.81 trillion dirhams ($1.58 trillion) in the third quarter, marking a 4 percent increase from the previous quarter, official data showed.

The figures, released by the Central Bank of the UAE, also showed continued growth in deposits across the banking sector.

Total bank deposits climbed 12 percent annually to 3.57 trillion dirhams, representing a 2.7 percent increase quarter on quarter, state news agency WAM reported.

UAE banking growth aligns with economic expansion outlook

The expansion follows strong growth in the banking sector during the first half of the year.

The Central Bank’s September 2026 Quarterly Economic Review showed that total banking assets had increased 12.5 percent year on year to 5.6 trillion dirhams by the end of the second quarter.

The loan portfolio expanded 18.1 percent, while deposits grew 14 percent over the same period.

The broader economic outlook also points to continued expansion. The Central Bank projected real gross domestic product growth of 10.4 percent in 2027, up from 1.6 percent in 2026, in its September review.

The stronger outlook is largely underpinned by an expected 26.8 percent expansion in hydrocarbon activity, while non-hydrocarbon GDP is forecast to grow 4.9 percent.

Bank deposits, credit extended increase

The newly released WAM statement said: “Deposits from residents grew by 2.2 percent to approximately 3.25 trillion dirhams, while deposits from non-residents rose by 9.1 percent to 317.9 billion dirhams.”

It added: “Deposits from government-related entities contributed approximately 1.4 percentage points to the growth in resident deposits during the quarter, followed by private sector deposits, which contributed 0.6 percentage points.”

Total credit extended by banks also recorded growth, rising 5.5 percent quarter on quarter to 2.91 trillion dirhams. This represented an annual increase of 17.3 percent.

Money supply expands in September

Turning to monetary developments, the money supply measure M1 reached 1.02 trillion dirhams in September, comprising 161.6 billion dirhams in currency circulating outside banks and 860.7 billion dirhams in monetary deposits.

M2, which includes M1 and quasi-monetary deposits, increased 0.6 percent during the month to exceed 2.93 trillion dirhams.

The broader M3 measure rose 1.2 percent to 3.50 trillion dirhams, supported by a 4.5 percent increase in government sector deposits, which reached 570.1 billion dirhams.

The monetary base stood at 801.9 billion dirhams, while banks’ reserve balances held with the Central Bank increased 31.3 percent to 304.7 billion.

Banking transactions maintain momentum

Data for the first nine months of 2026 showed that interbank transfers reached approximately 21.73 trillion dirhams. Of this amount, 13.35 trillion dirhams consisted of transfers initiated by banks, while customer-initiated transfers accounted for 8.38 trillion dirhams.

During the same period, more than 16.24 million cheques were cleared, with their combined value exceeding 990.5 billion dirhams.