Fund transfers among the UAE banks amounted to Dhs6.307tr

The total value of fund transfers among the UAE’s banks amounted to Dhs6.307 trillion during the first eight months of 2020, according to the statistics released by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

The bank fund transfers during the reference period hit Dhs4.051 trillion, while individual transfers stood at Dhs2.255 trillion.

The transactions are made through the UAE Fund Transfer System (UAEFTS) that enables the lenders to conduct all interbank local fund transfers.

FTS is a funds transfer mechanism in the UAE wherein transfer of money takes place from one Bank to another through the UAE’s Central Bank system. In compliance with regulatory requirements, all Banks in UAE have been mandated to use the UAE FTS for all AED transfers.

In the meantime, total withdrawals from the CBUAE during the reference period valued around Dhs134.77 billion, Dhs134.756 billion of which are banknotes and the remainder in coins.

Deposits reached Dhs149.88 billion, Dhs149.852 of which are in banknotes and the rest in coins, according to the financial regulator’s figures.

According to the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates recent figures expats’ remittances from the UAE amounted to Dhs79.6 billion in H1-2020.

These account for 48.2 per cent of the total money transferred by foreign residents in the country during 2019, which totaled Dhs165 billion. First quarter (Q1) saw the transfer of Dhs41.4 billion while Dhs38.2 billion was remitted in the second quarter, with 76 per cent the total transferred via money exchange companies operating in the country and the rest through banks. India took home the crown as the top-receiving country for earnings made by expats, followed by the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and the US.

The 6-12 month term deposits grew by Dhs22.8 billion, or 13 per cent, during the first seven months of the year, according to the statistics of the Central Bank of the UAE, which put their current cumulative balance at Dhs199 billion, accounting for about 20.5 per cent of the total value term deposits at UAE banks by the end of July. The growth is attributed to a rising demand over this type of deposits due to their higher returns in comparison with other investment vehicles. According to CBUAE’s figures, the month of May saw these deposits go down to Dhs160.87 billion before rising to Dhs199 billion by the end of July from Dhs180 billion in Q1 and Dhs176.23 billion in Q4, 2019. A total of Dhs44.72 billion of the Dhs50 billion liquidity facility provided by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to the UAE banking sector as part of the Targeted Economic Support Scheme(TESS) has been drawn down by UAE lenders until the end of July, figures released by the CBUAE have shown.

On March 15, CBUAE announced a Dhs100 billion stimulus package as a counter-measure to address the COVID-19 in the country. TESS includes Dhs50 billion of zero-interest, collateralised loans for UAE-based banks. It also entails Dhs50 billion funds freed up from banks’ capital buffers. Participating banks should use the funding to offer temporary relief to private sector and retail customers for a period of up to 6 months. The scheme also aims to ease principal and interest payments on outstanding loans. According to the statistics, a total of Dhs44.38 billion has been drawn down during June, Dhs42.33 billion in May and Dhs31.85 billion by the end of April.

Up to 26 banks have availed the TESS with the number of beneficiaries amounting to more than 140,000, including individuals and corporates.

The Board of Directors (BoD) of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), recently reviewed the new initiatives and continuous development plans which envisage the apex bank seeking to become one of the best in the world in line with the directives of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and the CBUAE Board Chairman. This came at the bank’s 8th board meeting this year at Qasr Al Watan under the chairmanship of Sheikh Mansour and in the presence board members and a number of senior officials and bankers. The board members addressed the bank’s operational plans and approved the consumer protection framework and regulatory oversight of the UAE banking industry.

WAM