UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
based banks received AED21 bn in commission income in 2018, with national banks getting 82.8 pc thereof, i.e. AED17.4 bn, according to statistics revealed by the Central Bank of the UAE.
The foreign banks’ commission income amounted to AED3.4 bn, with the remaining amount claimed by branches of Gulf banks operating in the country.
It’s noteworthy that there are 60 banks operating in the UAE.
In the meantime, the eligible liquid assets reached AED414 billion at the end of 2018, comprising of CBUAE Certificates of Deposits, AED138 bn, statutory reserves at AED120 bn, domestic and foreign debt securities AED107 bn, and cash and current accounts at AED49 bn, according to CBUAE’s Financial Stability Report – 2018.
Other operating income comprises trading income, derivative income, fee and commission income, and other income streams.
The net profits of UAE national banks exceeded AED42.6 bn in 2018, a growth of 12 pc on year.
The report indicates that the operating efficiency of the UAE banking system improved as reflected in the cost-to-income ratio. The overall cost-to-income ratio decreased to 35.9% in 2018, compared to 39.1% in 2017.
The improvement in the cost efficiency during 2018 was contributed primarily by lower operating expenses, which decreased by 7.0%. Mergers in the Abu Dhabi banking sector also contributed to the improvement in cost efficiency.
