In accordance with the information presented by the Central Bank, the employment level of citizens in the banking, insurance, and financial sectors in 2024 is expected to surpass the planned indicator. Thanks to preparation and productivity efforts, 2866 citizens were employed against a planned 1875 jobs, achieving this excellence. It is noted that several initiatives were launched, including the "إثراء" program for nationalization in the financial sector, aimed at strengthening the development of productive Emirati personnel in the sector, which will contribute to supporting the economy of the UAE and its ambitious future plans.
As announced in a statement published yesterday, the Central Bank reported on its achievements in 2024, noting that the banking sector of the country is the largest in the Middle East, with total assets amounting to 4.457 trillion dirhams by the end of November 2024, compared to 4.075 trillion dirhams in 2023. The Central Bank also noted a historic and unprecedented growth across all financial indicators over the past year.
Regarding credit and insurance, the interest rate for short-term loans decreased to 2.1% in 2024 compared to 2.4% in 2023, which indicates an improvement in the quality of assets in the banking sector. The insurance sector significantly grew over the past year, where the total premiums amounted to 64.5 billion dirhams compared to 53.3 billion dirhams in 2023.
It is expected that the total assets of the Central Bank will increase by approximately 896 billion dirhams, supported by an increase in net inflows into the national economy. In the framework of the housing program for citizens, support has been provided in the form of grants applied in acceptance of certain requirements for housing loans, with a total of 6.1 billion dirhams in 2024.
In the field of local capital market development and effective realization of available cash frameworks, the amount of cash instruments constituted 209 billion dirhams in 2024 compared to 169 billion dirhams in 2023. The Central Bank also stands out among global central banks issuing Islamic financial instruments, where the balance sheet for Islamic financial tools constituted 42 billion dirhams in 2024 compared to 45 billion dirhams in 2023.
