UAE Banking Sector Reports Strong Growth in 2024

Director-General of H H The Ruler’s Court of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani said that the UAE banking sector recorded strong growth of 12% in 2024, driven through higher financing activity across public and private sectors.

In his remarks on DIB’s financial results for the first quarter of this year, he said they clearly reflected of the bank’s commitment to this national progress supporting key sectors, driving financial inclusion, and sustaining disciplined growth.

According to him, the global economy and financial markets have remained under pressure since the start of the year, driven by continued shifts in trade and immigration policy across major developed economies particularly the US.

With this backdrop, global growth is expected to stay moderate, and inflationary trends remain present in select advanced and emerging markets, he explained.

“Despite these global conditions, the UAE continues to stand out. Its expanding non-oil economy, deep trade partnerships and steady domestic growth have allowed it to maintain stability and move forward with confidence,” he said.

Dubai’s economy continued to gain momentum, particularly in areas such as financial services, real estate, tourism and construction, in which DIB remained active and invested. As the world’s first full-service Sharia-compliant bank, it was playing a defining role in this transformation both at home and across the wider Islamic banking landscape, he said.

Q1-25 Results

DIB, which is the world’s first full-service Sharia-compliant bank and the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, recorded a powerful start to the year, delivering $570 million in group pre-tax profit – a 14% y-o-y increase, driven primarily by quality earning assets growth.

Further, robust deposit mobilisation, led to the balance sheet expanding by 3% to AED $96.65 billion, reaffirming the bank’s strategic resilience and underscoring its growing influence in shaping the future of Islamic finance on the global stage.

DIB’s operating revenues showed a healthy increase of 5% y-o-y to reach $858.7 million and the Group’s pre-tax profit was $573.92 million up 14% y-o-y, with net profit (after tax) of $489.25 million, up by 8% y-o-y, DIB said in a regulatory disclosure with Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The net financing and sukuk Investments increased to $83.58 billion, up 4% year-to-date. Strong net financing grew at nearly 5% year-to-date to reach to $60.71 billion and DIB’s total assets were $96.65 billion, the bank said.

The customer deposits increased to $72.15 billion and current account and saving account (CASA) balances were up 4% year-to-date reaching $26.95 billion. CASA comprises 37% of the bank’s total deposits.

Commenting on the results, DIB’s Group CEO Dr Adnan Chilwan said that there has been consistent improvement in the bank’s asset quality over the recent years.

The non-performing financing (NPF) ratio dropped to its lowest levels since the global pandemic, now standing at 3.7%. This clearly demonstrates the robust risk management approach and prudent underwriting guidelines that DIB has ingrained into its medium- and long-term business growth strategy, he added.