First Index: Deposit Race Intensifies in the UAE Banking Market as the Gap Between «FAB» and «Emirates NBD» Falls to Its Lowest Level in Five Years

In banking, the gap between competitors does not merely reflect the scale of leadership; it also reveals the direction of competition. Under normal circumstances, a widening gap indicates that the market leader is growing faster than its rivals, while a narrowing gap suggests that competing institutions are expanding at a quicker pace, even if market rankings remain unchanged.

For this reason, tracking the gap between major banks is one of the most effective ways to identify underlying shifts in competition, as it highlights how the distance between leading institutions evolves over time.

As part of its ongoing monitoring of developments in the Arab banking sector—particularly the intensifying competition among major banks across key financial portfolios—First Bank’s latest analysis revealed a growing battle between «FAB» and «Emirates NBD» for leadership in the UAE deposits market.

According to consolidated financial statements, the gap between the two banking groups in customer deposits stood at 43.07 USD bn at the end of 2021, before widening to 53.82 USD bn by the end of 2022.

However, the competitive landscape began to shift in 2023, as the gap narrowed to 47.74 USD bn, then declined further to 31.48 USD bn by the end of 2024. The sharpest contraction came during 2025, when the difference fell to 14.91 USD bn.

By the end of Q1 of 2026, the gap had narrowed once again to 11.13 USD bn, marking its lowest level in five years and reflecting the continued acceleration in convergence between the two banking groups within the UAE deposits market.

Looking at the individual performance of both institutions during Q1 of 2026, FAB’s customer deposits increased to 237.09 USD bn by the end of March, compared with 228.92 USD bn at year-end 2025, representing an increase of 8.17 USD bn and a quarterly growth rate of 3.6%.

Meanwhile, «Emirates NBD» delivered a stronger performance, with customer deposits rising to 225.96 USD bn by the end of March 2026, compared with 214.01 USD bn at the end of 2025. This represents an increase of 11.95 USD bn in just three months and a quarterly growth rate of 5.6%.

These results indicate that the shrinking gap was not driven by slower growth at the market leader. Rather, it was fueled by the faster expansion of «Emirates NBD», which succeeded in attracting new deposits at a pace exceeding that of its competitor, leading directly to the continued reduction in the difference between the two institutions.

This competition is particularly significant because deposits represent the cornerstone of banks’ funding structures and remain the lowest-cost source of financing for lending activities and business expansion.

Consequently, banks that achieve stronger deposit growth not only expand the size of their balance sheets but also enhance their future capacity for growth and profitability.

With the gap reaching its lowest level in five years, the race for leadership in the UAE deposits market appears more open than ever. The key question now is whether «Emirates NBD» can continue narrowing the gap and eventually claim the top spot, or whether «FAB» will regain momentum and maintain its position at the summit?