UAE banks post Dh90.8 billion profit, assets climb to Dh5.3 trillion

Dubai: UAE banks recorded net profits of Dh90.8 billion in 2025, up 11.7% from the previous year, while the banking system’s total assets increased 17.1% to Dh5.3 trillion, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s Financial Stability Report 2025.

The loan portfolio expanded by 17.8% during the year, driven mainly by higher domestic lending across the retail and private corporate segments, while deposits increased by 16.1%.

Retail deposits alone grew 13.8% year on year, while private corporate deposits increased 22.8%. Resident deposits accounted for 88.6% of the overall increase in deposits during 2025.

Mortgage lending rises 23.9%

Mortgage lending grew 23.9% during 2025, with average loan-to-value ratios on new mortgage commitments remaining around 60%.

The CBUAE report showed that the banking system’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 77.7% at the end of the year, compared with 76.6% in 2024.

Asset quality also improved during 2025, with the non-performing loan ratio falling to 3.3%, compared with 4.7% in 2024 and 8.2% in 2020.

The banking system maintained a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 17.0% at the end of 2025, while its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 14.4%.

Bank profits rise 11.7%

Net profit reached Dh90.8 billion after increasing 11.7% during the year, with total operating income rising 12.5%.

The banking system’s net interest margin moderated to 2.3% in 2025 from 2.5% in 2024, while the cost-to-income ratio declined to 30.5% from 31.5%.

Banks withstand stress test

The CBUAE’s 2025 supervisory stress tests found that the banking sector remained above minimum regulatory capital requirements under a severe adverse scenario.

The aggregate Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio fell from 14.1% to a low of 11.1% under the adverse scenario, a decline of 297 basis points, while remaining above regulatory minimum requirements.

Liquidity stress tests also estimated surpluses of about Dh462 billion over a 30-day stress period and Dh371 billion over 60 days.

Aani usage climbs

The report also detailed continued growth in the UAE’s payment infrastructure during 2025.

Transaction volumes on Aani, the Instant Payment Platform, increased around 183% from 2024, while the number of enrolled customers exceeded 11.7 million by the end of the year. Aani allows customers to transfer up to Dh50,000 instantly on a 24-hour basis and supports features including QR code payments, payment requests and split payments.

The national payment switch processed more than two million card transactions a day, while market participants advanced preparations to issue Jaywan debit and prepaid cards from 2026.