Abu Dhabi’s Biggest Islamic Bank Weighs Merger Deals Outside UAE

Abu Dhabi’s biggest Islamic bank has the “liquidity and firepower” to pursue acquisitions outside the United Arab Emirates, according to its group chief financial officer.

“We are continuously looking for opportunities outside the UAE,” Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC’s Mohamed Abdel Bary said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. “Once we identify an opportunity which would make sense to us and becomes capital-accretive, we would definitely pursue it.”

A saturated banking market and sluggish economic growth at home have pushed UAE banks to look for expansion abroad. The country’s biggest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, ...