UAE banks’ investments exceeded Dhs640 billion by the end of January 2024, achieving the highest level in its history, according to the latest statistics from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

Central Bank statistics, released in today’s Banking Indicators report, showed a 19.4 per cent annual increase in the investments of banks operating in the country, reaching Dhs640.1 billion by the end of January 2024, compared to about Dhs536.2 billion in January 2023.

These investments increased on a monthly basis by 0.9 per cent compared to Dhs634.4 billion in December last year, Dhs5.7 billion up in a single month.

Bonds held to maturity accounted for the largest share of bank investments at around 48.6 per cent, reaching Dhs311.2 billion by the end of last January, a growth of 2.1 per cent monthly.

The share of bank investments in securities reached around 41.2 per cent of the total investments, reaching Dhs263.6 billion by the end of January 2024, an increase of 2.53 per cent monthly and 3.7 per cent annually.

Bank investments in stocks hit Dhs16 billion by the end of January 2024, a 1.27 per cent monthly increase from about Dhs 15.8 billion in December 2023, and from Dhs11.8 billion in January 2023. According to CBUAE statistics, other bank investments reached around Dhs49.3 billion by the end of January 2024, a monthly increase of 0.82 per cent from around Dhs48.9 billion at the end of December last year.

Meanwhile, savings deposits in the UAE’s banking sector, excluding interbank deposits, attracted around Dhs25 billion to reach Dhs270.48 billion at the end of January 2024, compared to about Dhs245.54 billion in January 2023, with an annual growth of 10.2 per cent, according to the latest statistics from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

The local currency, the dirham, accounted for the largest share of savings deposits, about 82 percent or Dhs222.01 billion, while the share of foreign currencies amounted to 18 percent or Dhs48.4 billion.

Savings Deposits in banks have been on a consistently upward trajectory in recent years, rising from Dhs152 billion at the end of 2018 to Dhs172.2 billion in 2019, and reaching Dhs215.2 billion in 2020, Dhs241.8 billion in 2021, and Dhs245.8 billion in 2022.

The Demand Deposits increased to Dhs1.001 trillion at the end of January 2024, with an annual growth rate of 9.5 percent compared to Dhs914.74 billion in January 2023, an increase equivalent to Dhs86.6 billion.

Demand Deposits total comprised Dhs720.55 billion in the local currency, the Dirham, accounting for 72 percent, and around Dhs280.8 billion in foreign currencies, accounting for 28 percent.

Demand Deposits continued to grow in recent years, rising from Dhs577.6 billion at the end of 2018 to Dhs599.6 billion at the end of 2019, Dhs696.8 billion at the end of 2020, Dhs848 billion in 2021, and Dhs907.3 billion in 2022.

According to the Central Bank’s bulletin, Time Deposits reached Dhs796.9 billion at the end of January 2024, with a 30.3 percent annual increase compared to about Dhs611.69 billion in January 2023, an increase ofDhs185.2 billion.

The local currency, the dirham, accounted for the largest share of time deposits, about 60 percent or Dhs474.88 billion, while the share of foreign currencies amounted to about 40 percent or Dhs322.04 billion.

EDB boosts industrial GDP impact:  Emirates Development Bank (EDB), the key financial engine of economic development and industrial advancement in the UAE, has unveiled a record increase in total financing since the launch of EDB’s strategy in 2021 to Dhs10.4 billion, bringing its cumulative contribution to the nation’s industrial GDP impact to Dhs4.9 billion.

Meanwhile, the value of gold reserves of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) reached Dhs17.921 billion by the end of January 2024, a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 7 per cent.

The apex bank, in its latest figures, showed that gold reserves mildly dropped by 1.25 per cent compared to Dhs18.147 in December 2023. The UAE’s gold reserves significantly grew over the past years, hitting Dhs12.862 billion by the end of 2020 from Dhs4.44 billion by the end of 2019, and Dhs1.134 billion in 2018.

Separately, Commercial bank International (CBI) has announced its investment in zypl.ai, a fintech startup pioneering the application of generative AI in lending. 

Commenting on zypl.ai, Ali Sultan Rakkad Al Amri, CEO of CBI, said “Our partnership with zypl.ai, an innovative AI platform, signifies a strategic entry into using AI implementation for advanced credit scoring. By harnessing zypl.ai’s synthetic data AI powered algorithms, we’re confident we can further enhance our operational efficiencies to ensure a swift and seamless lending experience.