UAE Banks Report Dh90.8 Billion in Profits as Assets Rise to Dh5.3 Trillion.
Dubai: UAE banks recorded net profits of Dh90.8 billion in 2025, marking an 11.7 per cent increase from the previous year, while total banking sector assets rose 17.1 per cent to Dh5.3 trillion, according to the Central Bank of the UAE’s Financial Stability Report 2025.
The loan portfolio expanded by 17.8 per cent during the year, driven largely by stronger domestic lending to retail customers and private corporates, while overall deposits grew by 16.1 per cent.
Retail deposits increased 13.8 per cent year on year, while deposits from private corporates rose 22.8 per cent. Resident deposits accounted for 88.6 per cent of the total growth in deposits during 2025.
Mortgage lending rises 23.9%
Mortgage lending increased 23.9 per cent in 2025, while the average loan-to-value ratio for new mortgage commitments remained around 60 per cent.
The CBUAE report showed that the banking system’s loan-to-deposit ratio rose to 77.7 per cent at the end of 2025, up from 76.6 per cent in 2024.
Asset quality also improved during the year, with the non-performing loan ratio falling to 3.3 per cent, compared with 4.7 per cent in 2024 and 8.2 per cent in 2020.
The banking system maintained a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 17.0 per cent at the end of 2025, while the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 14.4 per cent.
Bank profits rise 11.7%
Net profits reached Dh90.8 billion in 2025, marking an 11.7 per cent increase from the previous year. Total operating income also grew 12.5 per cent during the year.
The banking system’s net interest margin narrowed to 2.3 per cent in 2025, down from 2.5 per cent in 2024, while the cost-to-income ratio improved to 30.5 per cent from 31.5 per cent.
The CBUAE will continue to strengthen its supervisory and prudential frameworks and enhance the financial system’s preparedness to address future risks and challenges, contributing to safeguarding financial stability and supporting sustainable economic growth.
— Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE
Banks withstand stress test
The CBUAE’s 2025 supervisory stress tests showed that the UAE banking sector remained above minimum regulatory capital requirements even under a severe adverse scenario.
Under the scenario, the aggregate Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio fell from 14.1 per cent to a low of 11.1 per cent, a decline of 297 basis points. Despite the drop, the ratio remained above the minimum regulatory thresholds.
Liquidity stress tests also showed that the banking system would maintain liquidity surpluses of about Dh462 billion over a 30-day stress period and Dh371 billion over 60 days.
Aani usage climbs
The report also highlighted continued growth in the UAE’s payments infrastructure during 2025.
Transaction volumes on Aani, the Instant Payment Platform, rose by around 183 per cent compared with 2024, while the number of registered customers surpassed 11.7 million by the end of the year. Aani enables customers to make instant transfers of up to Dh50,000 around the clock and offers features such as QR code payments, payment requests and split payments.
The national payment switch processed more than two million card transactions daily, while market participants continued preparations to issue Jaywan debit and prepaid cards from 2026.
