UAE’s Islamic finance sector on a strong growth trajectory, says Central Bank – The National

UAE’s Islamic finance sector on a strong growth trajectory, says Central Bank – The National

The UAE's Islamic finance sector is on a strong growth trajectory and its role is key to achieving the sustainability goals of the country, its Central Bank has said.The report comes in line with the UAE’s Year of Sustainability and its recent hosting of Cop28, the regulator said in its UAE Islamic Finance Report 2023.It analyses the performance of various Islamic finance sectors such as banking, insurance, or takaful, and capital markets that covers sukuk or Islamic bond issuances.The Islamic banking sector accounted for 23 per cent of total banking assets within the UAE in 2022, equivalent to Dh845 billion ($231 billion), the report said.Assets held by Islamic banks totalled Dh631 billion while Islamic windows – Islamic outlets in conventional banks – held Dh214 billion, growing at 8 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively, from 2018.Islamic windows now account for 25 per cent of total Islamic banking assets in the UAE, it said.“The growth in Islamic banking assets in the UAE is supported by [the] strong funding conditions of Islamic banks and Islamic windows,” said Central Bank Governor Khaled Balama.“Recent growth has also been driven by the economic activities of retail and corporate consumers despite the increases in benchmark