Foreign assets of UAE banks abroad increase by 13.3%

According to the newspaper, the foreign assets of UAE banks jumped to form 25% of the total assets of the banking sector of 3 trillion and 85 billion dirhams at the end of last year compared to 23.7% for 2018, and the degree of exposure is very reassuring.

Emirates banks increased their foreign assets during the fourth quarter of last year by about 15.7 billion dirhams, as they increased from 754.2 billion dirhams at the end of the third quarter to 769.9 billion dirhams at the end of the fourth quarter. According to the third quarterly review report of the Central Bank for 2019, the foreign assets of banks at the end of the third quarter are divided into 631.5 billion dirhams for national banks, accounting for 83.7%, and 122.7 billion dirhams for foreign banks, with a share of 16.3%.

The reports of the Central Bank reveal the rise in liabilities of UAE banks, reaching 680 billion dirhams at the end of 2019 compared to 619.9 billion dirhams 2018, an increase of 60.1 billion dirhams, so foreign assets liabilities (liabilities) account for 22% of the total liabilities of banks for 2019, compared to 21.6% at the end of 2018. < / p>

Statistics of the Central Bank indicate that the total exposure of national banks to the risk of foreign assets increased by the end of the third quarter of last year, 2.8% on a quarterly basis and 9.8% on an annual basis, and the three main categories of exposure by the end of last September are in securities with a value owed by 203.9 billion Dirhams, assets due from headquarters and branches 127 billion dirhams, and assets due from other banks 126.9 billion dirhams.

Amjad Nasr, the financial expert, emphasized that the increase in foreign assets of UAE banks confirms the success of their expansion strategies in the main countries of the world, noting that banks have increased during the past three years, their foreign assets by about 237.5 billion dirhams, constituting 35.5% of the total of these assets, and the expansion here is due to many reasons , The first of which is to meet the requirements of increasing commercial exchange between the UAE and the majority of the countries of the world, especially since the UAE today constitutes an important global trade and financial center as the financial arm of government institutions and companies.

He added: It is noticed that Emirati banks recently focused on expanding in countries that enjoy an active and vital individuals market such as the Saudi, Indonesian and Pakistani markets, and the latter is witnessing a greater presence of Dubai Islamic Bank, as well as expanding in markets that enjoy pooled funds by issuing sukuk or bonds to benefit from them, especially In the Southeast Asia region.