Banking assets in the UAE continued to expand strongly in 2025, increasing by more than AED780 billion over the year to reach about AED5.34 trillion by the end of December 2025, up from roughly AED4.56 trillion a year earlier.
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) reported that gross banking assets grew 1.7% month-on-month, rising from AED5,251.9 billion at the end of November 2025 to AED5,339.9 billion by December-end.
Gross credit rose 1.5% over the same period, increasing from AED2,532.9 billion to AED2,570.3 billion. Around two-thirds of the credit expansion was driven by foreign currency lending, which grew by AED25.8 billion, while domestic credit increased by AED11.6 billion.
Domestic credit growth was supported by a 0.6% rise in lending to the private sector, contributing 0.4 percentage points to overall growth. Credit to government-related entities (GREs) increased by 1.8%, whilst lending to other financial corporations (OFCs) surged by 10.9%.
Bank deposits also recorded growth, rising 2.2% from AED3,236.6 billion in November 2025 to AED3,307 billion by December. The increase was driven by a 1.3% rise in resident deposits to AED3,009.2 billion, alongside a 12.2% jump in non-resident deposits to AED297.8 billion.
Within resident deposits, private sector deposits climbed 2.8% to AED2,249.6 billion, whilst GRE deposits increased 4.8% to AED296.2 billion. OFC deposits rose 12.9% to AED70 billion, although government sector deposits declined 10.4% to AED393.4 billion.
The CBUAE also reported growth in money supply indicators. The M1 money supply rose 2.2% to AED1,071.5 billion, supported by a 1.9% increase in currency circulating outside banks and a 2.3% rise in monetary deposits.
The M2 money supply increased 3.2% to AED2,754.7 billion, driven by a AED62 billion rise in quasi-monetary deposits. Corporate deposits, which grew 3.8%, contributed the largest share of the increase, largely supported by higher demand and savings deposits.
Meanwhile, the broader M3 money supply rose 1.2% to AED3,255.4 billion, mainly reflecting the expansion in M2.
The monetary base grew 5.4%, rising from AED850.1 billion in November to AED895.7 billion in December. This was primarily due to a 1.9% increase in currency issued and a sharp 63.4% rise in banks’ and OFCs’ current accounts and overnight deposits with the central bank, which outweighed a 9.1% decline in reserve accounts. Monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit remained largely unchanged.
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