Sector assets rise to AED 3.76 trillion at the end of March

AED 63.7 billion new bank deposits in a month

Bank deposits have been steadily increasing for nearly two years, coinciding with key interest rate hikes. Archival

Banks operating in the country received new deposits during the month of March, worth 63.7 billion dirhams, setting a new record level of monthly growth, according to data issued by the Central Bank yesterday, in which it indicated that the total balance of deposits reached by the end of the first quarter of this year, two trillion and 306 billion dirhams, compared to two trillion and 242.3 billion dirhams at the end of last February, a monthly growth of 2.8%. The CBE attributed the increase in total deposits to the increase in resident deposits by 3.1% and non-resident deposits by 0.2%.

For about two years, the levels of bank deposits have been steadily increasing, coinciding with the rise in the main interest rates that encouraged those with financial surpluses to keep them in banks, as the ratio currently revolves between 3.5 and 4.5%, while it reaches up to 5% on million-dollar deposits.

According to Central Bank data, total banking assets, including bank acceptance certificates, increased on a monthly basis by 0.5% to AED 3.764 trillion at the end of March, compared to AED 3.748 trillion at the end of February.

The data showed that the monetary base increased by 4.6% from AED 543.9 billion at the end of last February to AED 568.9 billion at the end of March 2023, as a result of increases in the issued currency, current accounts, overnight deposits of banks and other financial institutions with the Central Bank, cash bills, and Islamic certificates of deposit by 4.5%, 6.4% and 9.2%, respectively.

Statistics showed that the total assets of the Central Bank amounted to 594 billion dirhams at the end of March, compared to 564 billion dirhams at the end of February, which preceded it with a monthly increase of 30 billion dirhams.

The total foreign assets owned by the Central Bank at the end of the comparison period amounted to 537 billion dirhams, compared to 505 billion dirhams, a monthly increase of 32 billion dirhams.

• AED 594 billion total assets of the Central Bank at the end of March 2023.