FAB to seek shareholders’ nod to transfer defunct bank’s licence to ADQ
ABU DHABI/ October 5: The Abu Dhabi-headquartered diversified business group, ADQ, will be setting up the 49th commercial bank, which will be the 22nd national bank in the UAE. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) will transfer the legacy licence of the now-defunct First Gulf Bank (FGB) it holds.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) more than three years ago merged to form First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), one of the region’s largest and safest banks, leaving the FGB licence ‘re-deployable’.
The new move will have to be ratified by the FAB shareholders as a special resolution to be presented at the shareholders’ meeting scheduled on October 20.
The FAB filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADX) said that ADQ is planning to set up an exclusive digital bank by using this licence.
FAB said it would hold 10 per cent stake in the new digital bank. It will also have a claim for another 10 per cent stake at the time of the initial public offering (IPO) of the new digital bank.
The move gains significance given the fact that Central Bank has issued very few new banking licences in the past more than three decades.
ADQ, which was established in 2018, is a fast growing business group and has been spreading its wings in several core business areas ever since it was launched. The sectors where ADQ currently holds strategic stakes include Abu Dhabi Ports, Abu Dhabi Airport and Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADX).
