ABU DHABI, UAE – Credit facilities provided by national banks to the business and industrial sectors rose by US$7.7 billion (AED 28.5 billion) in the first half of 2023, according to figures revealed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE).
The apex bank’s figures showed that the two sectors saw a 4 percent rise in cumulative credit balance to US$203 billion (AED 745.6 billion) at the end of June 2023 from US$195 billion (AED 717.1 billion) at the end of December 2022.
National banks provide the most credit to the sectors, totaling US$224 billion (AED 825.9 billion) at the end of June, or 90.3 percent of the combined credit balance of the two sectors.
Foreign banks have a much smaller share at 9.7 percent or US$21.8 billion (AED 80.3 billion).
The credit balance for the sectors from banks in Abu Dhabi was around US$100 billion (AED 367.4 billion) as of the end of June, while banks in Dubai provided US$96.9 billion (AED 356.2 billion), and those in other emirates lent some US$27.8 billion (AED102.3 billion) to these sectors.
Out of the credit facilities worth AED 745.6 billion that these sectors obtained by the end of last June, traditional banks extended AED 677.2 billion, accounting for 82 percent, while Islamic banks provided about AED 148.7 billion, representing 18 percent of the total.