ABU DHABI: Gross assets of the Sharia-compliant banks operating in the UAE grew to AED650 billion ($177 billion) by the end of Q1-2023, an annual increase of 7.31 percent, equivalent to nearly AED44.3 billion, against about AED605.7 billion in March 2022, according to figures by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE).

The apex bank's statistics reflect an increase in Islamic banks' credit to AED400.2 billion at the end of March 2023, an annual growth of 2.51 percent compared to nearly AED390.4 billion in March 2022, and a month-over-month increase of 0.91%, from AED396.6 billion in February.

The Islamic banks’ deposits increased to AED453.4 billion in March 2023, an annual increase of 6.2 percent, from nearly AED427 billion in March 2022.

The statistics also reported that the total investments of Islamic banks amounted to AED111.5 billion by the end of March 2022.

In the meantime, and during the reference period, the UAE-based conventional banks had total assets of AED3.115 trillion, up 14.1% from AED2.73 trillion in March 2022.

These banks had around 82.7% of the total assets of the UAE's banking sector by end of March 2023, or AED3.765 trillion, while Islamic lenders held 17.3%.