Business : UAE deposit-loan gap falls at fastest pace in 7 months

The gap between deposits held by UAE banks in August and loans shrank at its fastest pace since February despite a sharp fall in deposits last month, data released by the UAE Central Bank showed on Saturday.

The gap at the end of last month stood at Dh21.6 billion, a decrease of Dh40 billion from Dh61.6 billion in July. The banks witnessed the lowest gap in January at Dh13.6 billion, according to the Central Bank. The gap reached at its peak level in May at Dh74.8 billion.

While deposits with UAE banks plunged by more than Dh35 billion last month, lending went slightly up in August. Deposits recorded a 3.2 per cent decline to Dh1,078.4 billion and loans witnessed 0.5 per cent increase in August and stood at Dh1,056.8 billion.

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