By the end of the third quarter of 2025, real estate had become the most significant sector for resident borrowing in the UAE, according to new figures from the Central Bank. Total loans for property purchases alone hit AED 226.5 billion, making up a substantial 11% of all loans extended to residents during this period.

When looking at the broader real estate loan portfolio, which reached AED 273.1 billion, buying property accounted for 83% of the total, while construction-related borrowing represented the remaining 17%, valued at AED 46.6 billion.

Financial Sector Sees Surge in Borrowing

The financial services sector ranked second in terms of borrowing volume, representing 12% of all resident loans. Lending to this sector reached AED 239 billion by September 2025, marking a sharp 23% growth from AED 194 billion at the end of 2024. This increase was driven by AED 45 billion in new loans during the first nine months of the year.

Government Borrowing Also Rises

The UAE government’s borrowing activity also expanded, with new loans totaling AED 22.3 billion from January to September 2025. This brought the government’s cumulative loan balance to AED 211.5 billion, up from AED 188.7 billion in December 2024. The public sector now accounts for about 10.5% of all resident borrowing.

Commercial Lending Grows, Led by Wholesale Trade

Commercial borrowing represented 9.5% of total loans taken by residents by the third quarter, reaching AED 190.9 billion — a 13% increase over the previous year. Roughly AED 21.6 billion in new commercial loans were issued in the first nine months of 2025.

Within this category, wholesale trade dominated, making up 77% of commercial borrowing. Loans to wholesale businesses rose 17.7%, from AED 124.8 billion at the end of 2024 to AED 146.9 billion by September 2025. Meanwhile, retail trade loans reached AED 44 billion, accounting for the remaining 23%.

Steady Growth in Transport and Telecom Sectors

The combined sectors of transportation, logistics, and telecommunications recorded a 9.5% increase in borrowing, with total loans climbing from AED 100.1 billion at the end of 2024 to AED 109.6 billion by Q3 2025.

Industrial Sector Borrowing Nears AED 100 Billion

Borrowing within the industrial sector grew by 7.1% during the first nine months of the year, reaching AED 100 billion by the end of September 2025 — up from AED 93.3 billion at the close of 2023.

The largest share of industrial borrowing went to petrochemical companies, which took 25.6% of the sector’s loans, totaling AED 25.6 billion. This marks an increase of 14.8%, with new loans worth AED 3.3 billion compared to the previous year’s AED 19.5 billion.

Other key segments included:

• Basic metals (including aluminum): AED 15 billion (15% share)

• Food industries: AED 11.9 billion (11.9%)

• Machinery, metal products, and equipment: AED 10.9 billion (10.9%)

Utility, Mining, and Agriculture Sectors

Borrowing in the utilities sector (water and electricity) exceeded AED 54 billion by the end of Q3, while the mining and quarrying sector saw loans rise to approximately AED 19.3 billion. The agricultural sector had a much smaller share, with borrowing nearing AED 2.5 billion by the end of the previous year.