Banks in the UAE hold the largest share of the Arab banking sector’s assets at 24.3 percent, reported the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) in its latest Financial Stability Report for Arab countries.
The report also revealed that the Arab world witnessed significant growth in the assets of the banking sector, rising to $4.574 trillion at the end of 2023, up from $4.355 trillion in 2022, a 5 percent annual increase.
UAE, Saudi banks lead growth
Following UAE banks came Saudi banks with a 23.1 percent share in total assets. The AMF also noted that the GCC region’s banking sector is projected to represent 73.1 percent of the total assets by the end of 2023.
Asset growth across the Arab banking sector reflects the confidence of customers and the market in the banking sector. Hence, the sector was able to achieve this growth despite the current regional and global instability.
The AMF attributed the growth in assets to the increase in banking sector assets in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which account for 58.9 percent of total assets in the Arab banking sector.
Credit, investments spur expansion
The report also noted that the UAE banking sector’s asset growth rate reached 11 percent last year due to a rise in total credit and investments. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s banking sector assets rose 9.3 percent, driven by an 11.5 percent rise in real estate loans and credit growth in other economic sectors.
In its Financial Stability Report for 2023, the Central Bank of the UAE noted that the country benefited from favorable domestic conditions, which helped shield the financial system from negative global economic trends. The UAE’s real GDP experienced a growth of 3.6 percent, spurred by a significant 6.2 percent increase in the non-oil sector, notably in tourism, real estate, and finance.
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