The Central Bank of the UAE released its 2024 Annual Report, setting out key monetary, financial and economic developments and summarising supervisory and market-infrastructure actions taken during 2024. The report highlights measures to support banking sector resilience, including increased capital reserves, strengthened stress testing and climate-related risk assessments, alongside work that contributed to the UAE’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force jurisdictions under the “enhanced monitoring process”. The report notes 2024 real GDP growth of 3.9% and a Central Bank forecast of 4.7% growth in 2025, with non-oil foreign trade of goods up 13.8% to more than AED 2.8 trillion. It reports total banking sector assets of AED 4.56 trillion, up 12.0%, and insurance sector gross written premiums of AED 64.8 billion. On financial infrastructure and regulation, the Central Bank cites launches under the Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme including the domestic card scheme Jaywan and the Aani instant payment platform, as well as the launch of an Open Finance regulation, a licensing and supervision system for virtual stablecoins, and an electronic Know Your Customer platform; it also launched Sanadak as an independent ombudsman unit for banking and insurance disputes. Emiratisation is presented as a 2024 priority, with licensed financial institutions employing 2,866 UAE nationals (152.9% growth) and UAE nationals in vital positions rising to 7,886 (up 20.22%). The report also states that the Central Bank launched the development phase of the Sustainable Monetary Sukuk programme, with the first phase focused on assessing economic feasibility and market size.
Central Bank of the UAE 2025-04-07
Central Bank of the UAE publishes 2024 Annual Report highlighting higher bank capital reserves, FATF enhanced monitoring exit and new payments and open finance initiatives
The UAE Central Bank's 2024 Annual Report details key developments, including measures to bolster banking resilience and the UAE's exit from the Financial Action Task Force's enhanced monitoring. It highlights a 3.9% real GDP growth in 2024, with a forecast of 4.7% for 2025, and significant increases in non-oil foreign trade and banking assets. The report also covers initiatives under the Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme, such as the domestic card scheme Jaywan, the Aani instant payment platform, and the launch of an Open Finance regulation.