UAE banks' invest. at all-time-high of AED620 bn by end of Nov.

The Central Bank's statistics, released in today's banking indicators report, revealed a year-on-year increase of 21.4 percent in the investments of banks operating in the country, reaching AED620.2 billion by the end of November last year. This represents an increase equivalent to AED109.1 billion compared to approximately AED511.1 billion during the same period of 2022.

According to the apex bank, monthly investments of banks increased by 3.2 percent, reaching AED601 billion in October last year, with an increase of AED19.2 billion in just one month. Moreover, these investments witnessed a growth of AED93 billion or 17.6 percent during the first 11 months of the previous year, compared to around AED527.4 billion at the end of 2022.

Held-to-maturity securities claimed the largest share of bank investments, reaching approximately 48.7 percent, totalling AED302.2 billion at the end of last November. This reflects a monthly increase of 2.93 percent compared to around AED293.7 billion in October.

Debt securities accounted for approximately 41.4 percent of the total investments, amounting to AED257.1 billion at the end of November. This indicates a monthly increase of about 4.4 percent compared to AED246.2 billion in October 2023.

As of the end of last November, bank investments in stocks reached AED12.3 billion, experiencing a monthly increase of 1.65 percent compared to approximately AED12.1 billion in October 2023. Over the first 11 months of the previous year, these investments increased by about 4.2 percent, against AED11.8 billion in December 2022.

According to Central Bank statistics, other investments by banks amounted to approximately AED48.5 billion at the end of November last year, reflecting an annual increase of about 2.75 percent, compared to AED47.2 billion in November 2022.

It's worth noting that bank investments do not include the bank's deposits with the Central Bank in the form of certificates of deposit and monetary bills.