The total foreign assets of the UAE Central Bank exceeded half a trillion dirhams at the end of last January, for the first time in its history.
Statistics issued by the UAE Central Bank indicated that the foreign assets of the Central Bank increased on a monthly basis by 1.34%, from 493.88 billion dirhams during December 2022 to 500.51 billion dirhams at the end of last January, an increase equivalent to 6.63 billion dirhams, according to Reuters.
The foreign assets of the Central Bank increased on an annual basis by 7.8%, compared to 464.48 billion dirhams in January 2022, an increase equivalent to more than 36 billion dirhams in 12 months.
Central Bank statistics attributed the monthly increase in foreign assets to an increase in bank balances and deposits with banks abroad by 0.18%, to reach 314.37 billion dirhams at the end of January, compared to 313.81 billion dirhams in December 2022.
Foreign securities held to maturity within the foreign assets of the Central Bank reached 143.64 billion dirhams at the end of last January, an increase on a monthly basis of about 6.8%, compared to 134.54 billion dirhams in December 2022.
Central Bank statistics indicated that other foreign assets amounted to 42.5 billion dirhams at the end of last January, a decrease on a monthly basis by 6.6%, compared to 45.53 billion dirhams in December 2022.
It is noteworthy that the assets of banks in the UAE increased to 3669.7 billion dirhams by the end of December 2022, by 10 percent compared to December 2021.
The assets of state banks increased by about 30.4 billion dirhams compared to last November.
