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Two of the UAE’s listed lenders, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, have strongly denied reports that they are in talks to merge their companies.
In separate statements to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Wednesday, the two banks said they have not pursued any discussions for a potential merger.
According to a media report on Tuesday, FAB and ADCB are “close to finalising” plans to merge the two entities. The two banks said the report was “unsubstantiated” and “false”.
“Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank categorically denies the false content of the article about the potential merger,” ADCB said, adding that it is “successfully implementing” a five-year strategy.
“[The bank] has not entered discussions with ADCB to pursue any merger activity,” FAB said in a separate statement.
FAB pointed out that it remains “fully focused on achieving” its “long-term strategic ambitions”.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
