Bank assets cross Dh1.7trn mark

The combined assets of banks in the UAE swelled to an all time high of more than Dh1.7 trillion at the end of May, maintaining the country’s position as having the largest banking sector in the Arab world, official data showed on Tuesday.

The assets of the 23 national banks and 28 foreign units swelled by nearly Dheight billion to soar to a record high of Dh1.703 trillion at the end of May from around Dh1.695 trillion at the end of April.

The increase meant that the collective assets of the 51 banks gained nearly Dh98 billion in the first five months of 2011 and Dh184 billion since the end of 2009, the central bank said in its May bulletin.

Deposits shrank by around Dhfive billion to Dh1,123.5 billion at the end of May from Dh1,128.3 billion at the end of June, their first decline since November.

Loans also fell by nearly Dhseven billion to Dh1,048.7 billion from Dh1,054.1 billion while capital edged up to Dh245.6 billion from Dh244.3 billion.

The report showed banks’ provisions for non-performing loans increased to around Dh47.1 billion at the end of May from Dh46.5 billion at the end of April, bringing the total NPL allocations in the first five months of 2011 to Dh5.9 billion. The level is nearly half the Dh11.7 billion allocated through 2010.

According to the report, central bank’s certificates of deposits held by banks totalled around dh119.4 billion at the end of May compared with Dh118 billion at the end of April and nearly Dh94 billion at the end of 2010.

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