Islamic banks have enjoyed faster growth than their traditional bank peers in the UAE, according to official data.
Islamic bank assets rose 3.2% in the first quarter, compared with 1% growth for conventional banks, according to the UAE Central Bank’s quarterly report.
Meanwhile, Islamic lending to individuals increased 7.6% in the three-month period, compared with 2% growth for conventional lending, said the report.
“The split between conventional and Islamic banks indicates that the growth in Islamic financing is much steeper than that for the conventional banks’ loans,” said Raees Ahmed, organiser of Halal Expo – Dubai, a conference about sharia-compliant topics.
“This effectively means that lending in the halal sector is going up at a much higher rate than that of the non-halal sector, as was evident in the first quarter of 2017.”
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