Despite ADIB’s Accelerating Growth, Dubai Islamic Bank Maintains Sole Leadership of the UAE Islamic Banking Sector

Amid intensifying competition within the Islamic banking sector in the UAE market, and the divergence in growth and expansion strategies among banks, the gap between the major institutions has become increasingly evident over time, particularly when analyzing key financial indicators and medium-term growth rates.

This comes as banks seek to strengthen their market shares through expanding lending activities and growing deposit bases, while simultaneously maintaining strong profitability levels.

According to March 2026 data, Dubai Islamic Bank continues to lead the UAE Islamic banking sector, with total assets reaching approximately $114.32 billion by the end of March 2026, compared to around $78.15 billion for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank during the same period.

Dubai Islamic Bank’s superiority also extends to its deposit base, with deposits totaling approximately $87.66 billion by the end of March 2026, versus $65.16 billion for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank during the same period.

The bank also maintained its lead in financing activity, recording net customer financing of $73.68 billion, compared to $52.76 billion for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank by the end of March 2026.

However, the competitive landscape appears more dynamic when examining growth rates over the past three years, specifically from the end of 2022 through March 2026. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank achieved asset growth of 70.3%, compared to 45.6% for Dubai Islamic Bank during the same period.

Despite Dubai Islamic Bank’s continued dominance in terms of size, the asset gap between the two banks widened to $36.17 billion by the end of March 2026, compared to $32.60 billion at the end of 2022. This reflects Dubai Islamic Bank’s continued ability to maintain its leadership despite the accelerating growth pace of its competitor.

In terms of deposits, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank posted strong growth of 73.2% over the last three years, compared to 62.1% for Dubai Islamic Bank during the same period.

Nevertheless, the gap between the two banks in deposits expanded to $22.50 billion by the end of March 2026, up from $16.48 billion at the end of 2022, driven by the continued strong growth of Dubai Islamic Bank’s customer base and its larger market size.

Regarding financing activity, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank achieved strong growth in net customer financing of 79.9% over the last three years, compared to 45.4% for Dubai Islamic Bank. This resulted in a slight narrowing of the financing gap to $20.92 billion by the end of March 2026, versus $21.33 billion at the end of 2022.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s advantage is not limited to growth momentum alone; it also extends to profitability and operational efficiency indicators. The bank recorded net profits of $496.85 million during the first quarter of 2026, surpassing Dubai Islamic Bank’s profits of $489.68 million during the same period.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank also outperformed in return metrics, posting a return on average assets of 2.57% during the first quarter of 2026, compared to 1.72% for Dubai Islamic Bank. In addition, it achieved a return on average equity of 23.38%, compared to 13.33% for the latter, reflecting higher efficiency in utilizing assets and shareholders’ equity to generate profits.

On the other hand, Dubai Islamic Bank still retains a strong relative advantage in terms of capital base, with capital reaching approximately $1.97 billion by the end of March 2026, compared to $988.76 million for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. This gives it greater flexibility to support future expansion plans and enhance its ability to absorb shocks and potential market fluctuations.

In light of the above, Dubai Islamic Bank continues to outperform in terms of portfolio size, while Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank demonstrates more dynamic performance in growth rates and profitability efficiency.

Despite the widening gap in some key indicators, the accelerating growth pace of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank across several areas reflects an improvement in its competitive capabilities.