Owned 20 per cent by the Dubai government and 80 per cent by UAE nationals, CBD was first established in 1969 as a joint venture of Commerzbank, Chase Manhattan Bank and Commercial Bank of Kuwait.
It evolved into a national public shareholding company in 1982. A well-established corporate bank, CBD is now focusing on expansion in retail banking, SME finance and Islamic banking to diversify its business. To finance this growth, the lender announced a $2 billion (Euro MediumTerm Note) EMTN programme this year, rated A- by Fitch and Baa1 by Moody’s.
The Bank recently completed the debut issuance of $500 million of conventional bonds under the programme.