Total assets in the UAE 2021, by key commercial bank

In 2021, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) ranked first by total assets among listed commercial banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), exceeding 272 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the total assets of Emirates National Bank Dubai (ENBD) amounted to just over 187 billion U.S. dollars.

UAE banking sector amid the pandemic

During the COVID-induced economic slump, banking and financial services, one of the key non-oil sectors in the United Arab Emirates, also felt the impact of the pandemic. In financial year 2020, banking profitability in the UAE declined by over 20 percent. However, the UAE banking sector is expected to rebound strongly within the next few years, given the extensive tax reforms introduced in the new UAE Federal Corporate Tax effective starting June 2023.

Digital banking in the FinTech landscape

Boasting the most progressive FinTech (financial technology) ecosystem in the Middle East and North Africa region, the United Arab Emirates has been at the forefront of digital transformation in the banking sector. FinTech features were most commonly used for account aggregation and peer-to-peer money transfers among banking customers in the UAE. In addition to traditional brick-and-mortar banks now also offering digital products and services to remain competitive, the emergence and success of challenger banks and neobanks, which target a wide range of tech-savvy customers, will likely reshape the UAE financial services sector for the years to come.