The assets of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Central Bank’s decreased by 3.1 percent in the first two months of 2002, from 51.8 billion Emirati dirhams ($14 billion) to 50.3 billion (413.6 billion), reported the official WAM news agency. The bank’s deposits dropped from Dh50.9 million to Dh48.6 million during the same period, a 4.6 percent drop.
The bank’s budget showed a drop in the value of deposit certificates from Dh16.8 billion to Dh16.1 billion in the first two months of this year, a 3.8 percent fall. Conversely, liquidity in the banking market increased by Dh643 million over the first two months of 2002 with the continuous drop of interest rates at unrivaled levels.
The UAE government approved the federal budget for 2002 last month with a deficit of $591 million. Spending is forecasted at 23.2 billion Emirati dirhams ($6.3 billion), down from last year's $6.17 billion and revenues of Dh 21 billion compared with $5.56 billion in 2001. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
