The Central Bank of the UAE’s (CBUAE) total foreign assets reached Dh405.94 billion in February 2020, media reports said. Based on the central bank’s latest data, its foreign assets have increased 13 percent equivalent to nearly Dh47 billion compared to the same period last year.
The increase in the central bank’s foreign assets reflects a positive outlook for the UAE market economy. According to the data, securities reached Dh18.07 billion, with an increase of Dh6.6 billion from January 2020.
It is reported that other foreign assets reached Dh18.09 billion in the same period, showing a decrease of Dh1.4 billion from the previous month. In January, its foreign assets rose to Dh400 million, according to the data.
Early this week, the central bank announced that it plans to cut interest rates in the UAE on the back of the US Federal Reserve cuts as a measure to ease the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic.
Now the central bank will oversee all operations of the UAE Exchange Centre, media reports said. The UAE Exchange Centre is primarily into remittance, foreign exchange and bill payment services in the country.
Recently, the central bank issued the Dormant Accounts Regulation aimed to create a framework for protection of dormant funds held in the UAE banks. The central bank said in a statement “To ensure the funds in dormant accounts are kept safe and available whenever the customer seeks repayment, banks are expected to have in place appropriate governance policies and procedures.”