9.5 Trillion Dirhams in Financial Transfers During the First Five Months of 2025
Clearing of 9.6 Million Checks by the End of May Valued at 603.1 Billion Dirhams
Industrial and commercial enterprises in the UAE accounted for the largest share of funding provided by local banks, representing approximately 46% of the total domestic credit, with a cumulative balance exceeding 874.3 billion dirhams by the end of May.
This figure includes all businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, which contributed around 10% to the overall credit balance for companies.
Data from the central bank indicated that industrial and commercial firms received 22 billion dirhams in new financing during the first five months of the year, which increased their cumulative credit balance by 2.5% by the end of May, compared to a total of 852 billion dirhams at the end of December 2024.
The data revealed that banks provided 54 billion dirhams in new funding to the private sector in general during these five months, raising the total private sector credit balance to 1.39 trillion dirhams by the end of May, a 4% increase from the 1.342 trillion dirhams noted at the end of December 2024.
Individuals constituted the second-largest beneficiaries of both private sector financing and local banking funding, with a cumulative balance totaling 521.4 billion dirhams.
They received approximately 33 billion dirhams in financing, reflecting a 6.7% increase compared to a cumulative balance of 489 billion dirhams at the end of 2024.
The cumulative credit balance granted to the public sector remained stable at 280.5 billion dirhams by the conclusion of May, while the total banking credit provided to the government reached 196.7 billion dirhams.
Deposits
On the deposits front, private sector deposits surpassed 2 trillion dirhams by the end of May, marking an increase of around 9% during the first five months, resulting in record growth despite a decline in other deposit patterns. Meanwhile, the government deposit balance remained steady at 402 billion dirhams, with the public sector deposit amount nearing 260 billion dirhams.
Additionally, a report on banking operations indicated that transfers through the UAE’s money transfer system, affiliated with the central bank, exceeded 9.5 trillion dirhams during the first five months of 2025.
The transfer rate in these months was higher by 1.5 trillion dirhams, which translates to a growth rate of 19% compared to the total transfers made in the same period of 2024.
Interbank transfers constituted the largest share of total transfers during this timeframe, at 60%, culminating in a total of 5.7 trillion dirhams, marking a 14% growth compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the portion of individual transfers was 34%.
Furthermore, central bank indicators showed that the banking sector processed over 9.6 million checks during the first five months, with a total value exceeding 603.1 billion dirhams.