Khaberni - Banking assets continued to grow during 2025, increasing by more than 780 billion dirhams over the year to reach about 5.34 trillion dirhams at the end of December (December) 2025 compared to about 4.56 trillion dirhams at the end of December 2024.
According to the monetary and banking developments report for December (December) issued by the Central Bank of the UAE today, Monday, on a monthly basis, banking assets recorded an increase of 1.7% during December 2025 compared to the end of November (November) of the same year.
According to the report, total bank credit rose in 2025 to about 2.57 trillion dirhams at the end of December from about 2.18 trillion dirhams at the end of December 2024 with an annual increase of approximately 390 billion dirhams.
In December 2025, credit growth was 1.5% compared to the end of November, with about two-thirds of this growth driven by an increase in foreign currency credit of about 25.8 billion dirhams, while local credit contributed about 11.6 billion dirhams.
The growth in local credit is attributed to an increase in credit granted to the private sector by 0.6%, and credit provided to government-related entities by 1.8%, in addition to credit growth directed towards other financial institutions by 10.9%, while the growth was limited by a decline in credit granted to the government sector.
Bank Deposits
Regarding bank deposits, they rose to about 3.307 trillion dirhams at the end of December from about 2.85 trillion dirhams at the end of December 2024, achieving an annual growth of approximately 433 billion dirhams.
On a monthly level, bank deposits increased by 2.2% during December 2025 compared to the end of November, driven by a 1.3% growth in resident deposits, and a 12.2% increase in non-resident deposits.
Within resident deposits, private sector deposits rose by 2.8%, while deposits of entities linked to the government increased by 4.8%, and deposits of other financial institutions rose by 12.9%, while government sector deposits declined by 10.4%.
Money Supply
On the money supply front, the central bank reported that the money supply "M1" rose during December 2025 from about 1.048 trillion dirhams at the end of November to about 1.071 trillion dirhams, recording a growth of 2.2%, supported by an increase in cash in circulation outside banks and monetary deposits. Also, the money supply "M2" rose from about 2.67 trillion dirhams to about 2.75 trillion dirhams, with a growth rate of 3.2%, resulting from an increase in quasi-monetary deposits of about 62 billion dirhams, while the money supply "M3" rose from about 3.216 trillion dirhams to about 3.255 trillion dirhams, achieving growth of 1.2%, despite the decline in government sector deposits.
Also, the monetary base increased during December 2025 by 5.4% compared to the end of November (November), reaching about 895.7 billion dirhams, driven by a 1.9% growth in issued cash, and a 63.4% increase in current accounts and overnight deposits for banks and other financial institutions at the central bank, despite a 9.1% decline in reserve accounts, while cash and Islamic deposit certificates remained largely unchanged.
