CBUAE assets surge 17% to AED 5.3 trillion as financial stability firms

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) on Monday, 17 August, released its Financial Stability Report 2025, revealing that total assets in the national banking system surged 17.1 percent to reach AED 5.3 trillion. The report confirms that the UAE financial sector maintained high capitalization and liquidity levels despite global economic shifts. Lending Growth and Asset Quality Data from the CBUAE showed that the banking loan portfolio expanded by 17.8 percent throughout 2025. This growth was primarily fueled by domestic lending activity within the retail and private corporate sectors. Concurrently, asset quality showed marked improvement as the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropped to 3.3 percent, a significant decrease from the 4.7 percent recorded in 2024 and 8.2 percent in 2020. Profitability within the sector remained robust, with net profits climbing 11.7 percent to AED 90.8 billion by the end of 2025. The CBUAE attributed this performance to a steady rise in total operating income and sustained growth in customer deposits, which bolstered overall liquidity. Stress Test Results and Infrastructure The 2025 supervisory stress tests, designed to measure resilience against severe economic shocks, indicated that the banking sector is well-positioned to handle volatility. Under an adverse scenario, the average Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio reached a low of 11.1 percent, which remains above the minimum regulatory requirements set by the central bank. The Capital…