Monetary and banking indicators in the United Arab Emirates continued to show positive performance at the beginning of 2026. Total banking assets increased by 1.4% to exceed 5.413 trillion dirhams at the end of January 2026, compared to approximately 5.339 trillion dirhams at the end of December 2025, according to the January Monetary and Banking Developments report issued by the central bank today. Total credit increased by 1.1% from around 2.57 trillion dirhams at the end of December to exceed 2.598 trillion dirhams by the end of January 2026, supported by a 27.9 billion dirham increase in domestic credit. The growth in domestic credit is attributed to a 2.5% increase in credit to the government sector and a 0.6% increase in credit to the private sector, which contributed approximately 0.4 percentage points to the total growth. However, this growth was limited by a 5.7% decrease in credit to other financial institutions, recording a negative contribution of approximately 0.1 percentage points. Regarding deposits, total bank deposits increased by 0.9% to reach approximately 3.337 trillion dirhams at the end of January 2026, compared to 3.307 trillion dirhams at the end of December, supported by a 1.2% increase in resident deposits to 3.046 trillion dirhams, while non-resident deposits decreased by 2.4% to 290.7 billion dirhams, recording a negative contribution of about 0.2 percentage points to the total deposit growth. The data showed growth in most components of resident deposits, with private sector deposits increasing by 1% to approximately 2.273 trillion dirhams, and government-related deposits increasing by 3.5% to 306.7 billion dirhams. Government sector deposits also increased by 2% to 401.3 billion dirhams, while deposits of other financial institutions decreased by 6.7% to stabilize at 65.3 billion dirhams. The monetary base increased by 0.6% to 900.8 billion dirhams at the end of January 2026, compared to 895.7 billion dirhams at the end of December, driven by a 32.4% increase in the reserve account and a 1.7% increase in currency issued, despite a 55.9% decrease in the current accounts of banks and other financial institutions, as well as overnight deposits with the central bank. According to the Monetary and Banking Developments data, the money supply "M1" increased by 0.9% to reach 1.081 trillion dirhams at the end of January 2026, compared to 1.071 trillion dirhams at the end of December, resulting from a 2.7% increase in currency outside banks and a 0.6% increase in demand deposits. The money supply "M2" also increased by 1.3% to reach approximately 2.79 trillion dirhams, supported by a 25.3 billion dirham increase in quasi-monetary deposits. Both the corporate sector and individual deposits contributed approximately 0.5 percentage points each to the total growth, with monthly increases of 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Government-related deposits grew by 3.6%, contributing about 0.4 percentage points to the total growth of the "M2" money supply, supported by an increase in demand dirham deposits and savings deposits. However, growth was limited by a 7.1% decrease in other financial corporate deposits due to a fall in foreign currency savings deposits. The money supply "M3" increased by 1.4% to exceed 3.301 trillion dirhams at the end of January 2026, driven by the growth of the "M2" money supply and a 2.2% increase in government sector deposits to 511.7 billion dirhams, contributing approximately 0.3 percentage points to the total growth. Furthermore, according to the data released today, the central bank's foreign assets exceeded 1.084 trillion dirhams at the end of January 2026, compared to 1.058 trillion dirhams at the end of December 2025. The central bank's foreign assets at the end of January were distributed as follows: 285.5 billion dirhams in bank balances and deposits with banks abroad, and 740.9 billion dirhams in foreign securities, and 58 billion dirhams in other foreign assets. The central bank's balance sheet exceeded 1.119 trillion dirhams, distributed in the liabilities and capital category as follows: 533.4 billion dirhams in current and deposit accounts, 306 billion dirhams in monetary bills and Islamic deposit certificates, 177.4 billion dirhams in currency notes and coins in circulation, and 24.9 billion dirhams in other liabilities, with capital and reserves amounting to 77.6 billion dirhams. As for the central bank's balance sheet in the assets category, it was distributed as follows: 224.2 billion dirhams in cash and bank balances, 76.2 billion dirhams in deposits, 767.6 billion dirhams in investments, and 51.3 billion dirhams in other assets.
