Media ININ Economy We Trust
Media In Abu Dhabi, 7 January 2019,
Banks operating in the UAE increased their investments during the first 11 months of 2018 to reach AED 331.1 billion at the end of last November, an increase of AED 20 billion and a growth of 6.4% compared to December 2017.
The instruments that banks invest in include securities that represent debt to others, as well as held-to-maturity and other investments through which they seek to maximize profits.
The Central Bank of UAE (CBE) figures show that the bank investment index has maintained its upward trend since the beginning of this year, reflecting its keenness to diversify its investments and create income sources that contribute to increasing profitability as well as revenues from traditional activities.
During the first quarter of 2018, the value of bank investments increased by 2.5% and by 7.9 billion dirhams, raising the total investment balance to 319 billion dirhams by the end of March, according to the Central Bank of Egypt.
In the second quarter of the year, investments increased by AED 7 billion and total monitoring increased to AED 326 billion, while value increased by AED 2.1 billion and closed at AED 328.1 billion.
In October and November last year, banks invested 3.9 billion dirhams, raising the total investment balance to AED 331.1 billion.
The bulk of the banks’ investments in securities represent debt to others, with a total balance of AED 209 billion. Investments in bonds held to maturity amounted to AED 80.7 billion, AED 31.1 billion in other investments and AED 10.3 billion in equities.
