UAE Central Bank's Foreign Assets Surge To Dh750b

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The Central bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has said it boosted its foreign assets by more Dh176 billion within a year - from April 2023 to the end of April 2024.

Foreign assets surged by 2.55 per cent during April, reaching Dh750.29 billion at the end of the month, compared to Dh731.62 billion at the end of March, according to data issued by the apex bank. Bank balances and deposits with banks abroad rose to Dh508.78 billion at the end of April, compared to about Dh489.31 billion at the end of March.

The value of foreign securities at the end of April rose to Dh183.93 billion while the value of other foreign assets rose to Dh57.58 billion in April from the previous level of Dh56.48 billion at the end of March.

The CBUAE said its balance sheet also posted a 25 per cent jump year on year to hit a record Dh789.82 billion in April 2024, for the first time in its history.

In the first four months, the balance sheet rose by 9.6 per cent, or Dh68.9 billion from Dh720.9 billion at the end of last year. On a monthly basis, the apex bank's balance sheet increased by 2.4 per cent, or Dh18.6 billion, from Dh771.23 billion in March.

Allocations of the balance sheet assets included Dh362.66 billion for cash and bank balances in April, approximately 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 and capital side, the balance sheet comprised Dh343.26 billion for current and deposit accounts, around 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.

In April, the total investments by banks operating in the country continued to rise steadily, reaching Dh 666.2 billion at the end of April 2024, registering growth of 0.3 per cent on a monthly basis, and 5.0 per cent since the beginning of the year.

The figures indicate a 21 per cent increase in investments at the end of April compared to the same month last year. Investments included debt securities at Dh 270.5 billion, equities at Dh 16.6 billion, held to maturity securities at Dh328.5 billion, and other investments at Dh50.6 billion.

CBUAE data shows that gross banks' assets, including bankers' acceptances, increased by 1.0 per cent from Dh4.254 trillion at the end of March to Dh4.296 trillion at the end of April.

Gross credit grew by 0.8 per cent to Dh2.063 trillion at the end of April from Dh2.047 trillion at the end of March 2024. Gross credit growth was driven by the increase in domestic credit by 0.7 per cent and in foreign credit by 1.4 per cent. Domestic credit expansion was due to increase in credit to the government sector and private sector by 4.7 percent and 0.4 per cent respectively, offsetting the 0.5 per cent, and 3.8 per cent decrease in credit to the public sector (government-related entities) and non-banking financial institutions.

In April, the CBUAE's monetary deposits increased by over 1.74 per cent or Dh13.1 billion to Dh764 billion from Dh750.9 billion in March. Government deposits increased to Dh508.8 billion, while quasi-monetary deposits settled at Dh1.256 trillion.

Currency issued reached Dh146.8 billion during April, with banks accounting for Dh18.4 billion and currency circulated outside banks logged at Dh128.4. billion

The monetary base expanded by 1.5 per cent 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.

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