Abu Dhabi: Data from the Central Bank of the UAE, at the end of August 2026, showed growth in a number of banking and monetary indicators, including bank assets, credit, deposits and money supply, in addition to an increase in the value of the Central Bank’s gold reserves, and growth in individual savings and financial transfers.According to data released by the Central Bank yesterday, total bank assets rose to Dh5.741 trillion by the end of August, compared to Dh5.087 trillion in the same month last year, with an annual growth of 12.9%, while net foreign assets of banks rose by 18.6% to Dh832.6 billion.Resident deposits also rose to Dh3.229 trillion, compared to Dh2.871 trillion a year earlier, while resident corporate deposits reached Dh1.477 trillion, and individual deposits recorded around Dh884.6 billion, compared to Dh826.1 billion in August 2025.In an indication of savings growth, savings deposits rose to Dh427.9 billion by the end of August, compared to Dh376.5 billion a year earlier, an increase of nearly 13.7%, while quasi-money deposits rose by 22.6%.The Central Bank of the UAE recorded gold reserves of approximately Dh39.2 billion at the end of August, compared to Dh30.3 billion in August 2025, an increase of approximately 29.3%, making gold one of the most prominent components of the bank’s assets that recorded growth during the period.In terms of financial transactions, the value of transfers through the UAE Funds Transfer System reached approximately Dh19.14 trillion during the first eight months of 2026, compared to Dh15.49 trillion during the same period in 2025, with a growth of approximately 23.5%.Customer transfers amounted to approximately Dh7.37 trillion, while interbank transfers reached Dh11.77 trillion.The value of cheques collected cumulatively up to the end of August reached approximately Dh914.1 billion, through 15.07 million cheques, reflecting continued activity in banking payment channels, in addition to the expansion of electronic transfers.The report data showed continued growth in bank credit during August, as total credit increased by Dh72.4 billion, or 2.6%, to reach Dh2.871 trillion by the end of the month, driven by an increase in local and foreign credit.Domestic credit rose by 2.8% to Dh2.268 trillion, while foreign credit increased by 1.6% to Dh602.6 billion.The expansion in domestic credit was mainly driven by an increase in credit granted to the private sector, as credit granted to individuals recorded an increase of 5.6%, amounting to Dh34.4 billion, contributing 1.6 percentage points to the growth of domestic credit.Credit granted to companies also increased by 2.4%, amounting to Dh22.8 billion, contributing one percentage point to domestic credit growth.Meanwhile, lending to the government rose by 2.8%, or Dh7.2 billion, adding 0.3 percentage points to domestic credit growth.In another indicator of liquidity developments, the money supply (M1) rose to Dh1.04 trillion by the end of August, with currency in circulation outside banks increasing by 2.1% to Dh162.6 billion, while cash deposits reached Dh876.3 billion.The money supply (M2) also increased by 0.7% during August, reaching Dh2.92 trillion.The money supply (M3) increased by 0.7% during the month, reaching Dh3.47 trillion by the end of August.The data showed that the monetary base rose by 4.2% to reach Dh825.9 billion by the end of August.
