UAE Leads Arab World In Banking Sector Assets With 24.3% Share: AMF

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) reported a notable growth in the assets of the banking sector in the Arab countries. By the end of 2023, these assets reached US$4.574 trillion, up from $4.355 trillion in 2022, and this indicates a 5% rise. Emirates News Agency, citing AMF's Financial Stability Report for Arab countries, reported that banks in the UAE hold the largest share of the Arab banking sector's assets with 24.3%, followed closely by Saudi banks with 23.1%.

The report also highlighted that the banking sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is projected to represent 73.1% of the total assets by the end of 2023. The report attributed the growth in assets to the increase in banking sector assets in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The three countries collectively account for 58.9% of total assets in the Arab banking sector.

In terms of achieving the largest asset growth rate in the Arab banking sector at the end of last year compared to 2022, banks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia ranked first and second, respectively. The UAE banking sector's asset growth rate reached 11% due to the growth of total credit and investments. At the same time, the Saudi banking sector's asset growth reached 9.3 percent, driven by the rise in real estate loans and credit growth in other economic sectors.