Banks in Dubai have demonstrated impressive performance over the past 12 months, becoming increasingly attractive for bank deposits and financing activities. They have successfully strengthened their assets and financial solvency within the UAE banking sector.
Data from the central bank indicates that Dubai’s banks have increased their total asset and investment portfolio by 17% year-on-year, adding over AED 375 billion within the last year. By the end of November, their total portfolio exceeded AED 2.65 trillion, up from approximately AED 2.25 trillion during the same period in 2024.
When examining the asset distribution, the assets of Dubai’s banks alone grew by 16.2% year-on-year, increasing by around AED 319 billion from a cumulative balance of AED 1.972 trillion in November 2024 to AED 2.291 trillion in November 2025.
Additionally, the investment balance of Dubai’s banks rose by approximately AED 56 billion due to new investments made during this period, showing a year-on-year growth rate of 20.2%, resulting in a cumulative balance that surpassed AED 336 billion by November of last year.
On another front, the cumulative balance of deposits in Dubai’s banks increased by 17.7% year-on-year, attracting AED 220 billion in new deposits over the year.
This led to Dubai banks dominating the inflow of new deposits to UAE banks over that timeframe, capturing 47% of the total deposits in the UAE, achieving a cumulative balance that exceeded AED 1.51 trillion by the end of November 2025. Consequently, these banks have maintained their strong appeal for bank deposits in the local market for 12 consecutive months.
Generally, the strength of deposits in Dubai’s banks is based on private sector resident deposits, which accounted for more than 73% of their total bank deposits, totaling over AED 1.1 trillion as of November 2025.
Moreover, banks operating in Dubai have been the leading providers of new banking financing during this period. Data shows that Dubai’s banks issued AED 180 billion in new financing to market clients, which resulted in a year-on-year increase of 18.8% in the total credit extended by Dubai’s banks.
As a result, the cumulative credit balance rose to AED 1.135 trillion in November, achieving a market share of 45% of the total credit extended within the UAE banking sector. The private sector and then the public sector were the primary beneficiaries of financing provided by Dubai’s banks up to November.
Gold Reserves
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of the UAE reached a gold reserve of AED 37.29 billion at the end of November, marking an increase of 62.27%, equivalent to AED 14.31 billion, over the first 11 months of 2025 compared to AED 22.98 billion at the end of December 2024.
The central bank’s gold reserves also grew by 5.79% month-on-month, an increase of AED 2.041 billion compared to approximately AED 35.25 billion in October 2025.
It is noteworthy that the central bank’s gold reserves have seen significant growth in recent years, rising from AED 4.044 billion at the end of 2019.
Gold is part of the diverse assets held by the central bank, which also includes liquid funds, certificates of deposit, and securities held until maturity.