Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to set up asset management firm

Abu Dhabi Islamic bank is setting up a company mainly focused on asset management and is seeking to partner with other entities to push it forward, its chief financial officer said.

“We are setting up a company which we will fairly soon introduce to the market and will be predominantly focused on asset management,” Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s Mohamed Abdel Bary said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. “Given our huge and strong client based, we are not starting from zero”

Known as ADIB, the Shariah-compliant lender is also continuing to look at organic and inorganic growth opportunities for its banking business. “The traditional way of M&A in this day and age is taking a long time to pay back and that’s why we are being very creative on how to create a bigger pool of opportunities,” Bary said, without elaborating.

UAE lenders have been looking to expand outside the region because of the crowded banking market and limited growth. First Abu Dhabi Bank, the biggest lender in the UAE, sought to buy a majority stake in investment bank EFG-Hermes but withdrew its billion-dollar bid after facing regulatory delays in Egypt.

ADIB, which saw 9 per cent growth in financing business from the corporate and government entities, is continuing to see strong demand from these segments despite strong liquidity.

Going into the second quarter we are “watching how things evolve particularly as interest rates go up, which might also impact some of the appetite for financing in some parts of the corporate segment,” Bary said. Every 50 basis points rate hike means a direct positive impact of Dhs120m ($32.7m) to the lenders net profit, he said.

Bary also said –

• Planning to continue to grow payments business for now
• Record transactions in property market in 1Q; expects trend to continue
• Says banks will not be in a rush to raise interest rates in order to not stall growth in real estate segment

Read: ADIB signs off Dhs500m Sharia’a-compliant deal to develop Jubail Island