By: Mahmoud Gamal
Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: UAE banks increased their investments in debt securities by 22.3% or AED 34.9 billion year-on-year by the end of February 2016, according to a statement.
Total banks’ investments in debt securities reached AED 191.4 billion ($52.1 billion) by the end of February 2017, compared to AED 156.5 billion ($42.6 billion) in the prior-year period.
Banks seek to diversify their fixed income investments, such as the interests they collected from bonds, to counter the fall in oil prices, economist Mohamed Al Zafiri told Mubasher.
UAE banks’ investments in debt securities rose 1.1% month-on-month as of 28 February 2017.
By the end of February 2017, the banks’ investments in equities declined 6.8% to AED 12.3 billion from AED 13.2 in the same period of 2016.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
