UAE Banking Sector Sees Critically important Growth in โฃFirst Half of 2025
Data released by the Emirates Central Bank indicates substantial growth โacross โขkey banking indicators during the first half of 2025. Total credit extended by banks operating in the UAE rose to 2.334 trillion dirhams in June 2025, marking an 11.1% โincrease from December 2024’s 2.180 trillion dirhams andโค a 7% rise from June โ2024’s 2.1 trillion dirhams – an increase of โค234.3 billion dirhams year-over-year and 154.3 billion dirhams inโ the first six โคmonths of the year.
A significant driver of this growth was increasedโฃ lending to the private sector, which grew by 9.1% annually and 6.2%โ since December 2024, reaching 1.424 trillion dirhams by the end of June 2025, compared to โฃ1.341 trillion dirhamsโ annually. Lending to individuals also saw a considerable increase, rising โby 75.3 billion dirhams, or 16.7% year-on-year,to 526 billion dirhams โin June 2025,up from 450.7 billion dirhams in June โ2024. Loans to individuals increased by 37.2 billion dirhams, a 7.6% rise, during the โfirst sixโค months of the year, reaching 488.8 billion dirhams at the โฃend โคof December 2024.
Bank investments alsoโ reached a record high of 796.7 billion dirhams at the end of June 2025, a 17.1% increase compared to 680.2 billion dirhams in June 2024. These investments grew โคby 8.4%, or 61.9 โbillion dirhams,during the โขfirst half of the year,from 734.8 โbillion dirhams at the end of last year. The breakdown of these investments included 369 billion dirhams in debtโ securities,21.6 billion dirhams in shares, 348.6 โฃbillion dirhams in bonds awaiting maturity, and other investments totaling 57.5 billion dirhams. Notably,bankโ investments in stocks increased by 21.6% year-on-year and 15.5% in the first half of the year,reaching 21.6 billion dirhamsโ in june 2025, compared โคto 18.7 billion dirhams in December 2024 and 16.7 billion dirhams in April.
Total bank reserves held at the central bank increased by 19.3% year-on-year and 10.1% during โthe โขfirst six months of the year, reaching 690.5 billionโ dirhams in June 2025, โcompared to 626.9 billion dirhams in december 2024โข and 578.9 billion dirhams โin June 2024.Total banking deposits reached 3.045 trillion dirhams โขin June 2025, representing a 13.1% annual growth, equivalent to an increase of 353 billion dirhams, compared to 2.692 trillion dirhams in June 2024. Cash deposits increased by 121.3 billion dirhams year-on-year, reaching 878.3 billion dirhams in June 2025, up from 757 billionโค dirhams in June 2024. Monetary deposits increased by 65.1 billion dirhams during the first half of the year, reaching 813.2 billion dirhams at the end of lastโค year. Semi-monetary deposits rose to 1.505 trillion dirhams in June 2025, compared to 1.285 trillion dirhams in June 2024.
Combined, these figures demonstrate a substantial flow of funds through the โUAE banking system, โtotaling over 11.47 trillion dirhams in financial transfers within theโฃ first six months of 2025 โ(calculated by adding โtotal credit, bank investments, and total banking deposits: 2.334T + 0.7967T + 3.045T = 6.1757T. Adding this to the previous six months of 2024 figures of 2.1T + 0.7348T +โฃ 2.692T = 5.5268T โคgives a โtotal ofโ 11.7025T). This indicates a robust and expanding financial sector within the โUAE.
