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The Central Bank of the UAE recorded total banking assets rising 1.1 percent in February 2026 to more than AED5.472 trillion from AED5.414 trillion the previous month. Total credit expanded 1.2 percent to AED2.63 trillion with an AED20.6 billion increase in domestic credit contributing to the advance. Bank deposits grew 1.9 percent to AED3.4 trillion while resident deposits advanced 1.7 percent to AED3.098 trillion. Capital and liquidity positions remained solid with the capital adequacy ratio at 17 percent and the liquidity coverage ratio above 146.6 percent at the beginning of March.
Emirates News Agency highlighted that five national banks featured in Forbes’ 2026 list of the world’s best banks including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD and Commercial Bank of Dubai. Moody’s maintained the UAE’s Aa2 sovereign rating with a stable outlook following its assessment at the end of March. S&P Global Ratings affirmed the AA/A-1+ rating for local and foreign currency obligations also with a stable outlook citing strong fiscal resilience.
Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements programme the UAE signed new deals with the Philippines, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon during the first quarter of 2026 as it targets non-oil trade of AED4 trillion by 2031. The country entered the top ten global merchandise exporters for the first time ranking ninth according to World Trade Organization data. Total foreign trade reached AED6 trillion in 2025 reflecting a 15 percent increase from 2024 while non-oil merchandise trade rose 27 percent to AED3.8 trillion and services trade exceeded AED1.14 trillion for the first time.
Mubadala Investment Company held assets of AED1.4 trillion with cumulative returns surpassing 10 percent across five-year and ten-year periods. ADNOC increased its brand value by 11 percent to $21.13 billion marking more than 350 percent growth since 2017 and retaining its position as the UAE’s most valuable brand for an eighth consecutive year. Dubai advanced to seventh place in the Global Financial Centres Index reinforcing its role as an international hub.
The number of registered companies across the UAE surpassed 1.45 million by the end of February. Dubai Chamber of Commerce logged 2,709 new company formations in March while Sharjah recorded a 1 percent rise in issued and renewed licences in the first quarter compared with the prior year. Ajman issued 1,617 new licences and renewed 8,777 during the same period with renewals up 7 percent year on year.
Dirham-denominated Treasury bond auctions in March raised AED1.1 billion with bids reaching AED4.85 billion equivalent to 4.4 times the offered amount for maturities in September 2027 and January 2031. The Central Bank of the UAE’s Quarterly Economic Review for March projected real GDP growth to hold near 5.6 percent in 2026 driven primarily by non-hydrocarbon sectors including finance, manufacturing and construction.[[1]](https://www.centralbank.ae/media/lgnfakgc/qer-march_2026.pdf) Non-oil activities have provided the main impetus in recent years with the sector expanding 6.8 percent in 2025 according to federal statistics.[[2]](https://www.agbi.com/economy/2026/06/non-oil-growth-adds-to-rising-uae-gdp/)
