Dubai: Banking and financial institutions in the UAE increased their assets by 9 per cent in the first quarter to Dh2.38 trillion, the Ministry of Finance said on Sunday.
Banking institutions increased their lending activities by 8.2 per cent to Dh1.44 trillion over the three months ending March 31, 2015, the ministry said in an emailed statement.
Deposits by residents and non-residents increased 8.8 per cent to Dh1.45 trillion over the same period.
Meanwhile, the UAE’s banking sector had a cash reserve of Dh311.1 billion as of March 31, 2015 and the Central Bank’s total volume of assets in foreign currencies was Dh306.1 billion, up 1.3 per cent from Dh296.9 billion compared to a year ago. The increase is foreign currency is due to an increase of Dh7.52 billion in foreign bonds held to maturity, the ministry said.
There are 23 local banks and financial institutions and 34 foreign banks operating in the UAE, which include eight Islamic banks. There are a further 122 representative offices of foreign banks in the UAE, including 26 finance companies, 25 investment companies and 140 foreign exchange companies.