* Tier one bond sale to help improve capital ratios

* Bank picks BofA, DB, M.Stanley, HSBC, ING and itself for meetings

* Roadshows scheduled May 20-22 in Asia, London and UAE

(Adds roadshow details, background)

By Rachna Uppal and Mala Pancholia

DUBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Emirates NBD ENBD.DU (ENBD), Dubai's biggest lender, plans to tap global debt markets for its first capital-boosting bond issue, as Gulf banks take advantage of tight pricing and high investor demand to shore up capital ratios.

ENBD, which has already raised Tier 2, or supplementary capital, this year, has hired six banks, including its own investment banking unit, to arrange a Tier 1 bond issue, lead managers arranging the deal said on Thursday.

Tier 1 capital is a lender's core capital as defined under the Basel banking industry rules, and a key measure of its financial strength. Gulf banks will need to comply with tighter Basel III global standards for core capital, which will be introduced gradually over coming years.

ENBD's Tier 1 solvency ratio stood at 13.5 percent of assets at the end of March.

The company plans to meet investors on roadshows in Asia, London and the United Arab Emirates between May 20-22 ahead of issuing the bond, a statement from arranging banks said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch BAC.N , Deutsche Bank

DBKGn.DE , HSBC Holdings HSBA.L , ING ING.AS and Morgan Stanley MS.N as well as Emirates NBD's investment banking unit are arranging the investor meetings.

Although benefiting from enviable capital adequacy ratios compared to many lenders in the developed world, banks in the United Arab Emirates have in recent months sought to boost their capital ratios to support future growth and repair balance sheets impacted by Dubai's 2009 debt crisis.

Both Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD and Dubai Islamic Bank

DISB.DU have sold Tier 1-boosting Islamic bonds in recent months- the ADIB issue being the first such sharia-compliant offering ever from the region. ID:nL6N0BX141 ID:nL5E8M8CHZ

However, non-Islamic banks in the Gulf have largely shied away from such deals. Commercial Bank of Qatar COMB.QA has appointed banks to sell a bond, sources told Reuters last month, but it has yet to come to market. ID:nL5N0CP1ZM

UAE banks have also focussed on repaying the 70 billion dirhams of systematic support the UAE government placed with the country's banks in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Both Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank ADCB.AD and ENBD have sold bonds which boost Tier 2 capital to replace the government instruments, while other banks have used their cash reserves to repay them. ID:nL5N0CH2OU

In April Emirates NBD repaid 3 billion dirhams ($816.8 million) out of the 12.6 billion dirhams of government support.

ID:nL6N0DC0WV

(Additional reporting by David French; Editing by Dinesh Nair and Greg Mahlich)

((rachna.uppal@thomsonreuters.com)(+971 4 366 4240)(Reuters Messaging: rachna.uppal.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: EMIRATES ENBD/BOND