The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has reported an increase of over Dh176 billion in its foreign assets within a year, from April 2023 to April 2024. Foreign assets grew by 2.55% in April, reaching Dh750.29 billion, up from Dh731.62 billion at the end of March, according to the latest data from the CBUAE. Bank balances and deposits with foreign banks rose to Dh508.78 billion by the end of April, up from Dh489.31 billion in March. The value of foreign securities increased to Dh183.93 billion, while other foreign assets rose to Dh57.58 billion in April.

The CBUAE's balance sheet also saw a significant 25% increase year-on-year, reaching a historic high of Dh789.82 billion in April 2024. In the first four months of the year, the balance sheet expanded by 9.6%, or Dh68.9 billion, from Dh720.9 billion at the end of 2023. On a monthly basis, the balance sheet grew by 2.4%, or Dh18.6 billion, from Dh771.23 billion in March. The allocations of the balance sheet assets included Dh362.66 billion for cash and bank balances, Dh214.3 billion in investments, Dh174.16 billion in deposits, Dh1.73 billion in loans and advances, and Dh36.96 billion in other assets.

On the liabilities side, the balance sheet included Dh343.26 billion for current and deposit accounts, Dh259.92 billion for monetary bills and Islamic certificates of deposit, Dh146.79 billion for issued banknotes and coins, Dh24.75 billion for capital and reserves, and Dh15.1 billion for other liabilities. Total investments by banks in the country continued to rise, reaching Dh666.2 billion by the end of April 2024, marking a 0.3% monthly increase and a 5.0% increase since the start of the year.

CBUAE data also showed that gross bank assets increased by 1.0% from Dh4.254 trillion at the end of March to Dh4.296 trillion at the end of April. Gross credit grew by 0.8% to Dh2.063 trillion, driven by a 0.7% increase in domestic credit and a 1.4% increase in foreign credit. The monetary base expanded by 1.5% to Dh714.3 billion, comprising Dh146.8 billion in currency issued, Dh183.1 billion in reserve account, Dh124.5 billion in banks and OFCs' current accounts, and Dh259.9 billion in certificates of deposit and monetary bills.