Credit facilities provided by the UAE national banks to the business and industrial sectors amounted to Dhs25.7 billion during the first five months of 2024, according to the latest figures released by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE).

The apex bank’s figures showed that the two sectors saw a 3.5 percent rise in cumulative credit balance to Dhs767.2 billion by the end of May from Dhs741.8 billion by the end of December 2023.

The cumulative credit balance provided to these two sectors grew by Dhs6.8 billion or 0.9 percent from Dhs760.4 billion in April, a YoY growth of 2.9 percent, or Dhs21.7 billion, from Dhs745.5 billion in May 2023.

National banks provide the most credit to the two sectors, totalling Dhs851.9 billion by the end of May 2024, or 90.1 percent of the combined credit balance of the two sectors. Foreign banks have a much smaller share of 9.9 percent or Dhs84.7 billion.

The credit balance for the sectors from banks in Abu Dhabi was around Dhs384.8 billion in May 2024, while banks in Dubai provided Dhs362.2 billion, and those in other emirates lent Dhs104.9 billion to these sectors.

Conventional banks accounted for approximately Dhs701.7 billion, or 82.4%, of the credit financing provided to the trade and industry sectors by the end of last May, while the share of Islamic banks reached approximately Dhs150.2 billion, equivalent to 17.6%.