DUBAI: Loans amounting to AED 336.5 billion ($91.4 billion) have been extended to UAE residents in June 2021, up by 3.6 percent from AED 324.7 billion a year ago when high unemployment numbers due to Covid-19 pandemic had caused a slowdown.
Media reports citing the latest UAE Central Bank data also said compared to March 2021, personal loans were up 1.7 percent. Gross credit, which includes loans to residents and non-residents and non-banking financial institutions, reached AED 1.76 trillion, down by 1.2 percent compared to the same period last year, but up by 0.9 percent compared to March, the reports said.
As part of UAE’s government’s initiatives to lessen the impact of the pandemic, the central bank had launched an AED 100 billion support program to help retail and corporate customers affected by the outbreak.
Complementing the bank’s efforts was an AED 3 billion stimulus package to the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme announced by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Dubai government also unveiled an AED 1.5 billion package to boost liquidity.
The central bank also said the country’s banking sector’s assets reached AED 3.2 trillion in June 2021, up by 0.6 percent compared to a year earlier. Total deposits also went up by 2.3 percent to AED 1.9 trillion during the same period.