Abu Dhabi- Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 17 April 2025:
The CEOs Advisory Council of the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the sole representative and unified voice of UAE banks, held its meeting on April 16, 2025, chaired by His Excellency Abdulaziz Al-Ghurair, Chairman of UBF, to review the banking and financial sector’s performance during the past year (2024), and discuss developments, initiatives and plans in 2025 to develop the financial and banking sector.
The CEOs Advisory Council praised the strong performance and achievements of the banking sector during the past year (2024), guided by the Central Bank of the UAE, which is leading the sector’s efforts to support the national economy’s growth by establishing the necessary frameworks to ensure financial stability, strengthen monetary and regulatory legislation, and upgrade the financial, banking and insurance sectors.
H.E. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UBF, said: “The banking and financial sector continues to develop and consolidate its leading position as the largest sector in the Middle East in terms of total assets, which increased by 12% over the past year to AED 4.56 trillion, reflecting the effectiveness of the Central Bank of the UAE’s strategies and policies to support the growth of the banking and financial sector to play its role in driving economic and social development, and cementing the UAE’s position as a global financial and banking centre”.
His Excellency added: “The banking sector has been able to achieve a strong performance over the past year and maintain high capitalisation levels, strong profitability, sufficient liquidity, and stable financial reserves. We are proud of the ability of UAE banks to register remarkable growth in promoting Emiratisation, as financial and banking institutions exceeded the set targets by achieving growth of 152.9%, employing 2,866 Emiratis during 2024, reaffirming that Emiratisation is a top priority for us”.
H.E. H.E. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair emphasised the banking sector’s commitment to achieve the strategic objectives of the UAE. H.E. praised the efforts of the CEOs Advisory Council, which includes banking leaders with extensive experiences and knowledges, to support decision-making in UBF, which focuses on ensuring a seamless and secure banking experience for customers.
During the meeting, the CEOs Advisory Council discussed UBF’s plans in 2025 to develop the banking and financial sector and maintain its leading position, stressing the importance of continuing efforts and initiatives to support Emiratisation, sustainability, governance, financial inclusion and support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in line with the directives of the Central Bank of the UAE.
The meeting also discussed the latest developments and initiatives to keep pace with the accelerated developments in the global economy, digital transformation, digital infrastructure development plans, enhancing cybersecurity, raising awareness about financial crimes and advanced fraud methods and ways to combat them, stressing the importance of doubling down efforts to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, supervisory and supervisory guidelines and following the highest standards of governance, transparency, and risk management.
Mr. Jamal Saleh, Director General of UBF, said: “The continued strong performance of the banking and financial sector confirms the distinguished position of the UAE as an economic power and a financial and banking centre, under the direct supervision of the Central Bank of the UAE’s, which sets the appropriate frameworks for the banking sector to play its role in economic and social development and provide a seamless and secure banking experience that meets the requirements and aspirations of customers”.
He added: “UBF remains committed to ensure continuous development and highest standards of compliance with regulations and policies to maintain an advanced banking system characterised by strength, resilience, and ability to keep pace with changes and developments in the global economy. We continue to strengthen cooperation with strategic partners and benefit from the extensive experience and knowledge of the members of the CEOs Advisory Council, the CEO Consultative Council, and technical and advisory committees, which are key drivers of our initiatives and plans”.
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