ABU DHABI, 25th March, 2026 (WAM) — Investments by banks operating in the UAE increased by 2 percent on a monthly basis, rising by AED16.9 billion during January 2026 to reach AED872.3 billion by the end of the month, while annual growth reached 17.4 percent compared to January 2025, according to banking indicators issued today by the Central Bank.
Data showed that banks’ investments in securities representing debt on others rose to AED418.6 billion by the end of January, achieving annual growth of 26 percent and a monthly increase of 3.1 percent.
Bonds held to maturity grew by 10.5 percent year-on-year and 0.8 percent month-on-month to reach AED371.1 billion, while banks’ investments in equities increased by 31.9 percent annually and 3.3 percent monthly to reach AED25.2 billion.
Other investments recorded a 0.9 percent monthly increase to reach AED57.4 billion by the end of January.
In addition, banking operations statistics showed that the value of transfers executed in the UAE banking sector through the UAE Funds Transfer System during January 2026 rose to approximately AED2.08 trillion, including around AED1.21 trillion in transfers carried out by banks and about AED864.6 billion executed by customers.
Banking operations statistics also showed that the value of cheques processed using their images increased to AED125.2 billion across 1.95 million cheques during January.
Source: Emirates News Agency