The total liquid assets in UAE banks rose to AED 407.6 billion in 2018, up 9.7 billion dirhams from 2017, an increase of 2.4 percent year-on-year.
A report by the central bank showed that the ratio of liquid assets to banks' assets remained well above the regulator's requirement of 10 per cent, falling from 18.3 per cent in 2017 to 17.45 per cent in 2018, due to the increase in bank assets at a much higher rate during 2018.
According to the report, the safety of the banking sector remained positive last year, with banks still enjoying a good level of capital with a capital adequacy ratio of 17.5%. As for (Tier 1) capital, it was 16.2% and the common stock was 14.3% in 2018, which is far higher than the regulatory requirements provided by the Central Bank.
The report also showed that the loan-to-deposit ratio of the banking system as a whole fell from 97.1 percent in 2017 to 94.43 percent in 2018 due to the stronger growth of deposits compared to loans. The lending to stable financial ratios also improved from 84.6 percent in December 2017 to 82.3 percent in December 2018.
Source (Al-Bayan newspaper – UAE, Edited)
