UAE Central Bank assets rise to Dh214bn

Access to credit remains closely controlled as the Central Bank continues its tight hold on lending, its monthly bulletin shows.

The Central Bank bulletin showed its total assets ran to Dh214 billion (US$58.26bn) in July, up more than Dh12bn, or 6 per cent, on June. That was a rise of 5 per cent since the start of the year.

And the bank has seen its foreign assets rise sharply to their highest since the end of last year - to Dh100bn in July, from Dh83bn June.

Meanwhile, bank credit extended within the UAE crept up at a more restrained pace this year to Dh968bn in July, up 0.16 per cent on June and just under 1 per cent since the end of last year.

The news comes as banks across the globe continue to be cautious with lending and credit, shoring up bad loan provisions and building up their levels of Tier 1 capital - one of the biggest indicators of financial health.

The Central Bank's latest figures show bank credit to the mining and quarrying sector, plus manufacturing, transport and financial institutions (excluding banks) all fell.

"Personal loans for consumption purposes" dropped marginally this year to Dh66.3bn. But "personal loans for business purposes" has risen 5.5 per cent this year to Dh180.8bn.

Credit to agriculture, construction, the government and the wholesale and retail trade also rose modestly.