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Abu Dhabi: Banks consider merger to form mideast’s largest lender

By  |  June 19, 2016

Two Abu Dhabi-based banks on Sunday said they are considering a merger to potentially form the Middle East’s largest lender by assets, a plan that comes as low oil prices strain the Gulf economies.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank on Sunday said they each had formed a working group of senior managers to review the commercial potential of a merger without providing financial details. They warned, however, that there is no certainty discussions will ultimately be fruitful.

National Bank of Abu Dhabi, or NBAD, and First Gulf Bank, or FGB, are the seventh and 15th largest bank by assets in the Middle East and Africa, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Combined, the new entity would hold around $170 billion in assets, exceeding Qatar National Bank, currently the region’s largest in size. NBAD has a market capitalization of about $13 billion and FGB shares are valued at around $16 billion, according to DirectFN data.

Full Content: Reuters

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