AE banks extended AED25.7 billion in credit facilities to business and industrial sectors in 5 months.

The UAE national banks provided a total of AED25.7 billion in credit facilities to the business and industrial sectors during the first five months of 2024, as per the recent data released by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE).

During this period, the cumulative credit balance for these sectors increased by 3.5 percent to AEDAED767.2 billion by the end of May from AEDAED741.8 billion at the end of December 2023. When compared to April, there was a 0.9 percent growth of AED6.8 billion from AEDAED760.4 billion. Additionally, there was a year-on-year growth of 2.9 percent, equal to AED21.7 billion, from AEDAED745.5 billion in May 2023.

The majority of the credit, amounting to AEDAED851.9 billion, was provided by national banks by the end of May 2024, accounting for 90.1 percent of the combined credit balance. In comparison, foreign banks had a smaller share of 9.9 percent, equivalent to AED84.7 billion.

Breakdown of credit facilities provided by different emirates:

• Abu Dhabi banks: AEDAED384.8 billion
• Dubai banks: AEDAED362.2 billion
• Other emirates' banks: AEDAED104.9 billion

Conventional banks provided approximately 82.4% of the credit financing, amounting to AEDAED701.7 billion, while Islamic banks accounted for roughly 17.6%, around AEDAED150.2 billion.