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The Central Bank of the UAE’s Financial Stability Report for 2025 placed total banking assets at Dh5.3 trillion after a 17.1 percent increase during the year. Loan portfolios grew 17.8 percent with domestic retail and private corporate lending providing the main impetus. Non-performing loans declined to 3.3 percent from 4.7 percent in 2024 and 8.2 percent in 2020, according to the report’s assessment of asset quality. Capital adequacy stood at 17.0 percent while the CET1 ratio reached 14.4 percent, both well above regulatory minima.
Net profits for the banking sector rose 11.7 percent to Dh90.8 billion in 2025, the Central Bank of the UAE said in the document. Deposits expanded 16.1 percent and the aggregate loan-to-deposit ratio stood at a comfortable 77.7 percent. Liquidity coverage reached 149.7 percent and the net stable funding ratio came in at 111.6 percent, figures from the report show. The assessment also noted that eligible liquid asset ratios held at 20.1 percent.
Regulatory stress tests conducted for the report demonstrated that the aggregate CET1 ratio would trough at 11.1 percent under an adverse scenario, a decline of 297 basis points that nevertheless remained above requirements. The Central Bank of the UAE strengthened the 2025 exercise with a bottom-up physical climate risk assessment that covered more than 142,000 properties. Top-down liquidity stress tests produced surpluses of Dh462 billion over 30 days and Dh371 billion over 60 days, according to the published results.
Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama stated in the report, “The Financial Stability Report 2025 affirms the strength and resilience of the UAE financial system and its ability to continue supporting the national economy efficiently, underpinned by adequate capital and liquidity, improved asset quality, and continued growth in credit, deposits and profitability.” Balama added that the Central Bank of the UAE would continue strengthening supervisory and prudential frameworks. The UAE economy grew 6.2 percent in 2025 with non-hydrocarbon activity expanding 6.8 percent, the document noted.
The insurance sector expanded with gross written premiums rising 14.9 percent to Dh74.8 billion and total assets reaching Dh164.9 billion, according to the Central Bank of the UAE. The Aani instant payment platform recorded volume growth of approximately 183 percent while enrolled customers surpassed 11.7 million. Capital markets on the ADX and DFM exceeded Dh4.1 trillion in capitalisation amid new listings and higher trading volumes, the report added.
A Financial Institution Resilience Package was approved on March 17, 2026, across five pillars that included liquidity relief, capital buffer releases and continued financing support to the economy, the Central Bank of the UAE said. The package built on buffers accumulated in 2025 that enabled the sector to maintain normal operations. An International Monetary Fund staff review from late 2025 similarly observed that UAE banks held capital and liquidity well above minima with the non-performing loan ratio around 3.4 percent in the second quarter.
