Wio Bank, one of the UAE’s fastest-growing digital lenders, is rapidly approaching the Dh100 billion asset milestone—an achievement that typically takes traditional banks a decade or more to reach in the UAE’s highly competitive market. Just under three years after launch, Wio’s balance sheet is already nearing Dh60 billion, and chief executive Jayesh Patel says the remaining Dh40 billion is within reach in the next two to three years.
Patel said Wio is “on track” to hit the benchmark that currently places seven UAE banks in the elite Dh100 billion asset league. Although the UAE has no formal regulatory definition of a large bank, the Dh100 billion level is widely recognised as the industry’s dividing line between major players and smaller institutions.
Backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor ADQ, telecom and tech giant e&, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Alpha Dhabi, Wio has quickly established itself as a disruptive force in retail and SME banking. Patel believes that if the bank maintains its current growth trajectory, it could soon rank among the UAE’s top five banks—and ultimately aims for a top-three position in the retail and SME segments.
