Company Insights Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Banking and Finance Latest Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank DevelopmentsAI Insights Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) reported a net profit after tax of AED2.4 billion for the first quarter of 2025, a rise of 14 percent compared to the same period last year. The company's operating income increased 9 percent to AED5 billion, with a notable 26 percent growth in non-interest income. The asset base expanded by 14 percent year on year, reaching AED680 billion1. ADCB's cost-to-income ratio declined by 1.3 percentage points last year but remained above the national average at 31 percent2. Chief economist Monica Malik has stated that ADCB has adjusted its Saudi Arabia budget deficit forecast from 3 percent of GDP to more than 4 percent due to the expected decline in Saudi oil revenue3. The bank's economist expects higher inflation rates in Saudi Arabia this year compared to last, predicting a rise in global food prices, with repercussions for the region4. Additionally, ADCB played a role as one of the active bookrunners for Adnoc's recent $1.5 billion sukuk offering, which was oversubscribed5. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Overview Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) was formed in 1985 as a public shareholding company with limited liability, following the mergers between Emirates Commercial Bank, Federal Commercial Bank and Khaleej Commercial Bank. ADCB is the third-largest bank in the UAE in terms of balance sheet size. Abu Dhabi’s government, through the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, holds over 60 percent of ADCB shares. The remainder is held by other institutions and individuals. ADCB offers retail and corporate client services to more than two million customers. It has around 50 branches and 475 ATMs across the UAE and also operates representative offices in Singapore and London. It also has a presence in Egypt and is moving to launch operations in Saudi Arabia. In May 2019 ADCB and Union National Bank merged and the combined entity acquired Al Hilal Bank, which operates as a separate Islamic banking entity under its own brand within the group. ADCB has said that part of its strategy is to focus on “growth and diversity building” via strategic partnerships with UAE companies. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank News Analysis Banking and Finance Retail and corporate lending help UAE banks to prosper Consumer demand for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans as well as increased corporate and government borrowing helped most major UAE banks post double-digit rises in profits in the first quarter of this year. The profit surge, which comes despite a greater tax burden on the sector, has supported a renewed rally in banking stocks. […] June 14, 2025 Economy Growth for Saudi Arabia, but challenges emerge Saudi Arabia raised its economic growth estimate for the first quarter, driven by expansion in the non-oil sector. The General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) said on Monday that real GDP grew by 3.4 percent in the three months to March 31, compared with the same period last year. That also compared with its earlier estimate of […] June 9, 2025 Finance Mubadala’s $1bn sukuk order book oversubscribed five times Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has sold $1 billion in 10-year US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, or sukuk, in its first debt sale of the year, news service IFR said on Wednesday. Acting through the Mamoura Diversified Global Holding debt vehicle, Mubadala priced the bonds at 60 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, narrower than […] May 29, 2025 Oil & Gas Aramco defies oil slump with strong $5bn bond sale Saudi Aramco’s $5 billion bond sale on Tuesday saw spreads tighten, suggesting a strong market appetite for the company’s debt despite falling oil prices. The state-owned oil company sold bonds in three tranches. A 5-year issue, which was priced at 80bps over US treasury bonds, tightened from its original 115bps guidance. The spread of a […] May 28, 2025 Banking and Finance Turkish bank secures $1bn to support women-led businesses Türk Eximbank, a state-backed export credit institution, has secured $1 billion in new funding to support small businesses. The funds will be used to support women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in low-income regions and provide financial support to SMEs exporting green products, the bank said in a post on the social media platform […] May 22, 2025 Health NMC’s BR Shetty fails to overturn $33m DIFC court ruling BR Shetty has lost his bid to appeal against a $33 million judgment by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in a case linked to the collapse of the company he founded, NMC Health. In the ruling made public this month, Chief Justice Wayne Martin dismissed Shetty’s request to challenge the judgment in favour of […] May 12, 2025 Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia to ‘roll with the punches’ on oil price Saudi Arabia may have to tighten its reins on spending on the back of a decline in international oil prices, analysts have said. The country’s first-quarter budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion), reported this week, was the biggest in three years. “A deficit was broadly expected, says Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial […] May 7, 2025 Real Estate Omniyat raises $500m to fund sustainable projects Dubai real estate developer Omniyat has raised $500 million to fund its sustainable developments. The order book of the inaugural three-year green sukuk was oversubscribed 3.6 times, reaching $1.8 billion. The sukuk will be listed and traded on Nasdaq Dubai and the London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. The pricing details were not given. Sukuk […] May 5, 2025 Banking and Finance ADCB records promising early year results Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), the UAE’s third largest bank by assets, reported double-digit growth for the first quarter of 2025. The bank cited an increase in operating income and growth across its core businesses. Rated as the UAE’s strongest banking brand for the second consecutive year by Brand Finance, ADCB reported a net profit […] April 30, 2025 Banking and Finance Adnoc to raise $1.5bn with Islamic bonds Abu Dhabi state oil giant Adnoc will raise $1.5 billion from a debut sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, acting through its primary debt capital markets entity Adnoc Murban, is selling the sukuk at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, the […] April 29, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 11 Next
Analysis Banking and Finance Retail and corporate lending help UAE banks to prosper Consumer demand for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans as well as increased corporate and government borrowing helped most major UAE banks post double-digit rises in profits in the first quarter of this year. The profit surge, which comes despite a greater tax burden on the sector, has supported a renewed rally in banking stocks. […] June 14, 2025
Economy Growth for Saudi Arabia, but challenges emerge Saudi Arabia raised its economic growth estimate for the first quarter, driven by expansion in the non-oil sector. The General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) said on Monday that real GDP grew by 3.4 percent in the three months to March 31, compared with the same period last year. That also compared with its earlier estimate of […] June 9, 2025
Finance Mubadala’s $1bn sukuk order book oversubscribed five times Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has sold $1 billion in 10-year US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, or sukuk, in its first debt sale of the year, news service IFR said on Wednesday. Acting through the Mamoura Diversified Global Holding debt vehicle, Mubadala priced the bonds at 60 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, narrower than […] May 29, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco defies oil slump with strong $5bn bond sale Saudi Aramco’s $5 billion bond sale on Tuesday saw spreads tighten, suggesting a strong market appetite for the company’s debt despite falling oil prices. The state-owned oil company sold bonds in three tranches. A 5-year issue, which was priced at 80bps over US treasury bonds, tightened from its original 115bps guidance. The spread of a […] May 28, 2025
Banking and Finance Turkish bank secures $1bn to support women-led businesses Türk Eximbank, a state-backed export credit institution, has secured $1 billion in new funding to support small businesses. The funds will be used to support women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in low-income regions and provide financial support to SMEs exporting green products, the bank said in a post on the social media platform […] May 22, 2025
Health NMC’s BR Shetty fails to overturn $33m DIFC court ruling BR Shetty has lost his bid to appeal against a $33 million judgment by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in a case linked to the collapse of the company he founded, NMC Health. In the ruling made public this month, Chief Justice Wayne Martin dismissed Shetty’s request to challenge the judgment in favour of […] May 12, 2025
Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia to ‘roll with the punches’ on oil price Saudi Arabia may have to tighten its reins on spending on the back of a decline in international oil prices, analysts have said. The country’s first-quarter budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion), reported this week, was the biggest in three years. “A deficit was broadly expected, says Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial […] May 7, 2025
Real Estate Omniyat raises $500m to fund sustainable projects Dubai real estate developer Omniyat has raised $500 million to fund its sustainable developments. The order book of the inaugural three-year green sukuk was oversubscribed 3.6 times, reaching $1.8 billion. The sukuk will be listed and traded on Nasdaq Dubai and the London Stock Exchange’s international securities market. The pricing details were not given. Sukuk […] May 5, 2025
Banking and Finance ADCB records promising early year results Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), the UAE’s third largest bank by assets, reported double-digit growth for the first quarter of 2025. The bank cited an increase in operating income and growth across its core businesses. Rated as the UAE’s strongest banking brand for the second consecutive year by Brand Finance, ADCB reported a net profit […] April 30, 2025
Banking and Finance Adnoc to raise $1.5bn with Islamic bonds Abu Dhabi state oil giant Adnoc will raise $1.5 billion from a debut sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, acting through its primary debt capital markets entity Adnoc Murban, is selling the sukuk at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, the […] April 29, 2025
