Central Bank's Gold Reserves Surge by 26% in Seven Months to AED 29 Billion

Data from the monthly statistical bulletin issued by the Central Bank of the UAE showed a significant rise in the bank's gold holdings, increasing by 26.17% in the first seven months of the current year. The gold reserves reached 28.997 billion dirhams by the end of July, up from 22.981 billion dirhams by the end of December 2024, marking an increase of 6.01 billion dirhams.

The statistics also demonstrated a monthly increase in gold reserves by 0.39% or 0.114 billion dirhams compared to 28.88 billion dirhams at the end of June 2025. The bank's gold holdings have seen consistent growth over past few years, starting from 11.913 billion dirhams at the end of 2021 to reaching 22.981 billion dirhams by the end of the last year.

The Central Bank data from last July highlighted a 17.2% annual increase in the assets of Abu Dhabi's banks, amounting to 2.447 trillion dirhams. This is up from 2.089 trillion dirhams in July 2024, showing an increase of 358 billion dirhams. Throughout the first seven months of this year, Abu Dhabi banks' assets climbed by 12.8%, equivalent to 278.4 billion dirhams, reaching 2.169 trillion dirhams by the end of last December.

According to the Central Bank's banking indicator reports classified by emirate, the total credit extended by Abu Dhabi banks reached approximately 1.114 trillion dirhams last July. This marked a rise from 986.9 billion dirhams in July 2024, showing a 13% annual growth, which equates to an increase of 128 billion dirhams.

Further, total credit provided by Abu Dhabi banks surged by 8.5% during the period from late December 2024 to July 2025, amounting to an 87.4 billion dirhams increase, with the figure standing at 1.026 trillion dirhams at the end of last December.

The total credit given by Abu Dhabi banks to the private sector witnessed a year-on-year increase of 7.4% and a growth of 6.1% over the first seven months of the current year, reaching 642.2 billion dirhams in July 2025. Comparatively, this figure was 605.4 billion dirhams in July 2024 and similarly at the end of last year.

The Central Bank data indicated that the overall investments of Abu Dhabi banks escalated by some 79.3 billion dirhams or 22.4% year-on-year to hit 433.9 billion dirhams last July. This is compared with 354.6 billion dirhams in July 2024, displaying growth of 13.1% in the first seven months of this year, when it stood at 383.6 billion dirhams in December 2024.

When focusing on bank deposits, the UAE Central Bank statistics revealed a 10.6% year-on-year rise in deposits from Abu Dhabi banks, amounting to an increase of 134.1 billion dirhams. This boosted their deposit levels beyond 1.396 trillion dirhams by the end of July compared to 1.262 trillion dirhams in July 2024.

Up until the first seven months of the current year, deposits from Abu Dhabi banks witnessed growth of 7.2%, or 93.6 billion dirhams, with the figure recorded at 1.302 trillion dirhams by the close of last year.