Banking sector’s net foreign reserves surge 8% to Dh91b

Gold reserves held by the apex bank reach Dh20.619 billion by May 2024, showing YoY growth of 19.7% from Dh17.219 billion in May 2023

Issac John

Published: Tue 6 Aug 2024, 9:10 PM

Net international reserves of the UAE banking sector rose by 8.0 per cent or Dh91 billion in the first five months of the year to reach Dh1.236 trillion by the end of last May from Dh1.145 trillion by the end of last year, according to the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) data.

Statistics showed that the CBUAE accounted for Dh763.8 billion of the net international reserves of the UAE banking sector by the end of last May, a growth of 13 per cent compared with a balance of Dh 673.42 billion by the end of 2023.

The net international reserves of banks operating in the UAE grew by 1.0 per cent to Dh472.68 billion by the end of last May from Dh472.2 billion by the end of December 2023.

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The value of gold reserves held by the apex bank reached Dh20.619 billion by May 2024, marking a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 19.7 per cent from Dh17.219 billion in May 2023.

In its Monthly Statistical Bulletin — Banking & Monetary Statistics for May 2024 — the bank said that gold reserves increased by 1.3 per cent monthly from Dh20.36 billion in April 2024.

The UAE's gold reserves have significantly grown over the past years, hitting Dh12.862 billion by the end of 2020 from Dh4.44 billion by the end of 2019, and Dh1.134 billion in 2018

In the first five months of 2024, the UAE banking sector’s value of transactions through the UAE Funds Transfer System (UAEFTS) rose to Dh7.9 trillion, CBUAE statistics show. This represents a year-on-year increase of 17 per cent compared to Dh6.748 trillion during the same period in 2023.

Transactions during the first five months of the year included Dh4.968 trillion for interbank transfers and Dh2.93 trillion for transfers between bank customers.

The UAE’s central bank reported Dh1.512 trillion in transactions in January, Dh1.449 trillion in February, Dh1.565 trillion in March, Dh1.592 trillion in April, and Dh1.78 trillion in May.

The central bank’s report also reveals that the value of cheques cleared using the Image Cheque Clearing System (ICCS) reached Dh544.4 billion, distributed over 9.33 million cheques during the first five months of 2024.

The value of cheques cleared in January stood at Dh109.4 billion for 1.965 million cheques. In February, the ICCS cleared 1.837 million cheques worth Dh106.7 billion.

March saw 1.855 million cheques worth Dh112.6 billion while April saw 1.66 million cheques worth DhD92.9 billion. In May, the UAE’s ICCS cleared 2.01 million cheques worth Dh112.7 billion.

The CBUAE data reveals that the value of cash deposits at the Central Bank during the first five months of the year reached Dh75.1 billion. Cash withdrawals stood at DhD88.17 billion, including Dh88.1 billion in banknote withdrawals and Dh29.8 million in coin withdrawals.