Up to 24 million Arab expats transferred over $49 billion to homelands in 2015, the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) said on Sunday.

UAB Secretary General Wessam Hassan said Egypt came first among Arab countries and seventh globally with regard to money remittance after Egyptian expats transferred 19.7 billion dollars in the past year, representing 40.4 percent of the total amount of money transfers in the Arab region.

Lebanon meanwhile came second with 7.2 billion dollars, he added.

Hassan blamed the fall of oil prices and the economic slowdown in the oil-producing Arab countries for the slight decline in money transfers in the Arab region.