Islamic banking assets in UAE surpass AED700 bn 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 AED703.1 billion at the end of last December, an annual increase of 11.5%, compared to about AED630.7 billion at the end of December 2022, an increase of AED72.4 billion during 12 months, while it increased on a monthly basis by 0.6% or AED4.2 billion, compared to about AED698.9 billion 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 AED132.7 billion at the end of last December, an annual increase of 27.1 percent or AED28.3 billion, compared to investments of about AED104.4 billion in December 2022, while it increased on a monthly basis by about 1 percent compared to about AED131.4 billion in last November.

Islamic banks' investments were distributed as follows:

-AED100.4 billion in bonds held to maturity
-AED18.7 billion in financial instruments representing debt on others (bonds)
-AED2.6 billion in shares
-AED11 billion in other investments

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.

Total bank credit for conventional banks reached AED1.563 trillion at the end of last December, an annual increase of 5.5 percent, compared to AED1.482 trillion in December 2022. Meanwhile, bank deposits in conventional banks increased to AED2.026 trillion at the end of last December, an annual growth of 13.7percent, compared to AED1.782 trillion in December 2022.

Total investments of conventional banks grew by 15.6 percent annually to AED488.8 billion at the end of last December, distributed as follows:

-AED246.2 billion in financial instruments representing debt on others (bonds)
-AED204.4 billion in bonds held to maturity
-AED13.2 billion in shares
-AED37.9 billion in other investments