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ABU DHABI / WAM
The total assets of 10 UAE banks jumped to AED 1.75 trillion by the end of Q1 2017, a 9.3 percent growth from AED 1.6 trillion recorded over the same period last year.
A WAM analysis has found out that the growth in assets of the 10 banks whose Q 1 financial statements were announced until April 20th is attributable to an increase in the value of bank deposits registered during the first quarter of the year, which amounted to AED 1.11 trillion, a 4.4 percent increase over the same period last year.
The UAE banks continue to book robust growth despite the state of deceleration witnessed by the banking sector globally, according to banking sources who have cited the positive results recorded over the past three months as an example for the resilience boasted by UAE banks in comparison with other banks in the region.
According to UAE Central Banks statistics, the UAE banks’ solvency ratio has reached 19 percent, which exceeds the requirements of Basel III, a comprehensive set of reform measures, developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. The Central Bank started effective this year to apply part of these measures.
In a positive sign reflecting the growth posted by the UAE banks, a total of AED 23 billion in loans was provided over the first three months of the year by the banks whose Q1 financial statements were disclosed, bringing to AED 1.03 trillion their total loans, a 2.3 percent increase over the same period in 2016.
In terms of assets, the First Abu Dhabi Bank, the new banking entity created by the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, came first with AED 682.4 billion worth of assets, followed by the Emirates NBD’s AED 452 billion assets, with both banks accounting for 64.8 percent of the 10 banks’ total assets.
The Dubai Islamic Bank came third with of AED187 billion of assets, followed by Mashreq Bank with AED 120.7 billion and then the Union National Bank with AED 104.6 billion of assets.