UAE central bank’s foreign assets up Dhs203bn in February 2024

Image credit: WAM

The Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) foreign assets rose by 40.2 per cent or Dhs203bn year-on-year (YoY) to surpass the Dhs700bn mark at the end of February, according to the latest data from the central bank.

The latest data showed that the CBUAE’s foreign assets jumped by 2 per cent, on a monthly basis, to Dhs708bn in February 2024 from Dhs695.04bn the previous – representing an increase of Dhs13bn.

Since the beginning of 2024, the apex lender’s net foreign assets have increased by as much as 4 per cent or Dhs27bn. The increase in foreign asset volume is attributed to the rise in current account balances and deposits with banks abroad, with an annual increase of 51 per cent to Dhs467.6bn in February.

Similarly, foreign investments within the UAE central bank’s foreign assets surged by 28.9 per cent or Dhs42.5bn to around Dhs189.4bn in February compared to Dhs146.9bn the same period a year ago.

CBUAE’s foreign assets exclude its reserve tranche position and SDR holdings with the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, gross banks’ assets in the UAE surpassed a record Dhs4.2tn in February according to the central bank.

CBUAE said total banking assets, including bank acceptance certificates, increased by around Dhs450.2bn compared to Dhs3.75tn in February 2023. Monthly, total banking assets rose by 2.2 per cent to Dhs4.2tn in February from Dhs4.11tn.

The report showed that bank deposits rose by 2.7 per cent from Dhs2.54tn in January to Dhs2.61tn in February, driven by a 2.5 per cent and 5 per cent increase in resident and non-resident deposits, respectively.

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