ABU DHABI: Banks’ investments in monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit (CD) reached AED226.9 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 10.3 percent compared to AED205.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2023, according to the latest statistics of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).
According to Central Bank statistics released today, banks’ investments in Shariah-compliant CD reached AED43.9 billion by the end of Q2 2024.
The statistics showed that the Central Bank’s foreign assets increased by 5.3 percent (Q/Q), reaching AED 770.6 bn. in Q2 2024. The increase was driven by the quarterly expansions in current account balances & deposits with banks abroad by 9.1 percent (a quarterly increase of AED44.6 bn.) and in other foreign assets by 1.0 percent (a quarterly increase of AED 0.6 bn.), overriding the decline in foreign investments by 3.3 percent Q-o-Q (a quarterly reduction of AED6.1 bn.).
On a year-on-year basis, the apex bank’s foreign assets increased by 30.1% at the end of June 2024.
Total capital and reserves for banks operating in the UAE increased by 3.9% to AED 495.2 billion at the end of Q2 2024, with a total capital adequacy ratio of 18.3%, meaning that it remains well above the capital adequacy ratio of 13%, which includes a capital conservation buffer requirement of 2.5% and a Tier 1 ratio of 8.5%, as stipulated by the Central Bank’s Basel III guidelines.
At the end of Q2 2024, the number of locally incorporated banks (excluding investment banks) remained constant at 23 banks. The branches of these locally incorporated banks decreased to 482 branches at the end of June 2024. The number of electronic banking service units of banks and cash offices remained constant at 46 units and 21 cash offices, respectively, at the end of June 2024.
The statistics show that the number of GCC banks continue to remain steady at the end of Q2 2024 at six banks, plus one wholesale GCC bank. The branches of these banks also remained constant at six branches at the end of June 2024. The number of other foreign banks stood at 21 banks with 72 branches, while the number of electronic banking service units of the banks persisted at 21 units at the end of Q2 2024. The number of cash offices of banks remained consistent at one cash office during Q2 2024.
CBUAE said that the number of financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank, i.e., Wholesale Banks, Representative Offices, Finance Companies and Money Changers stood at 11, 70, 17 and 76, correspondingly, at the end of Q2 2024. The aggregate number of ATMs of banks operating in the UAE decreased by 10, reaching 4,659 ATMs at the end of Q2-2024.
