Abu Dhabi, 18 November 2008: Union Brokerage Company (UBC), the brokerage subsidiary of Union National Bank (UNB), has become the first brokerage house from the region to be awarded recognition by the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) as a General Clearing Member.

Becoming a General Clearing Member will enable UBC to not only provide all its customers with access to trades on the DIFX without the need for an intermediary, but also to provide Clearing services to other DIFX Trading Members.

UBC, which is regulated by the Securities and Commodities Authority, is also   the second broker to join the DIFX as a Member directly from the regulatory jurisdiction of the UAE.

The other General Clearing Members of the DIFX are Merrill Lynch, KAS Bank and Deutsche Bank and are all based outside the region.

Mohammad Nasr Abdeen, Chief Executive Officer of UNB said: "UBC will serve as a new route for investors from the UAE, the region and the international investor community to access the growing range of listings on the DIFX".

Mr. Abdeen added: "It is extremely gratifying to be the first brokerage company from the entire region to be recognised as a General Clearing Member on the DIFX. The DIFX operates to an international regulatory standard and we are pleased to have satisfied them of our own high levels of professionalism and standards of operations and service."

Currently the DIFX has 18 listed equities including DP World, which carried out the largest IPO in the Middle East last year ($4.96 billion). The exchange's equity base includes listed companies from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, China, India, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and United States as well as the UAE.

Jeffrey Singer, Chief Executive of the DIFX, said: "UBC has a long established track record in the UAE and is one of its leading brokers, linking various individual and institutional investors to the DIFX and its services. We are delighted that it is the first local broker to sign up as a General Clearing Member. Joining from the UAE provides simple and straightforward access to the DIFX market."

In February this year NASDAQ OMX, one of the world's leading exchange groups, acquired one third of the DIFX. The other two thirds is owned by Borse Dubai. This ownership structure supports the expansion of the DIFX as the international stock exchange serving the region between Western Europe and East Asia.

Union Brokerage Company, one of the longest established brokerage houses in the country, operates out of 7 offices across the UAE and is currently evaluating plans for regional expansion and increasing product and service offerings.

Mr. Abdeen added that: "We recognise our responsibility to investors from the UAE, the region and the international community to support their capital market trading and investing needs and we intend to expand our presence and service offerings in the region to satisfy these investor appetites".

-Ends-

About Union National Bank:
Union National Bank (UNB) is a public joint stock company incorporated under the laws of the United Arab Emirates in 1982.  UNB operates through a wide network of branches and over 100 ATMs throughout the UAE. UNB is present in the Arab Republic of Egypt through its 94.9% owned subsidiary Union National Bank, Egypt (formerly known as Alexandria Commercial and Maritime Bank) which has 9 branches in Egypt.

UNB has two other subsidiaries. (1) Union Brokerage Company (UBC) which provides brokerage services for customers trading in shares and securities on Abu Dhabi Securities Market and Dubai Financial Market. UBC operates from state of the art offices which are located in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Dhafra, Al Ain and Fujairah. (2) Al Wifaq Finance Company (AWFC) an Islamic Finance Company which offers Shari'a compliant products and services to tap the growing Islamic banking market.

UNB is the only bank in the UAE which has significant shareholdings by the Governments of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The major shareholders of UNB are the Finance Department, Government of Abu Dhabi (40%), Abu Dhabi Investment Council (10%) and the Government of Dubai (10%).  The remaining 40% of the shares are held by the general public. The shares of UNB are listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market.

UNB has adopted the total quality management concepts and methodologies, quality management systems and a business excellence framework. A strong testament to this was when the Bank won the 2004 / 2005 Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award, Gold category and the 2005 Dubai Quality Award in the financial sector.

In 2002, UNB became the first bank of its size in the Middle East to be ISO 9001:2000 certified across its entire operations in the UAE by Lloyds Register Quality Assurance for its Quality Management Systems under the terms set out by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service - UKAS - scheme. This certificate was renewed during 2005 and the bank is poised for recertification during 2008 demonstrating commitment to Quality and continuous improvement. 

To find out more about Union National Bank and the services and products offered please visit one of our branches or log on to our website www.unb.com.

About DIFX:
The DIFX is the international financial exchange serving the region between Western Europe and East Asia. It welcomes regional as well as global issuers that seek regional and international investment. The exchange currently lists shares, structured products, Sukuk (Islamic bonds) and conventional bonds and plans to list equity derivatives later in 2008. The exchange has 24 international and regional Members.

The regulator of the DIFX is the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).  The DIFX is located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

For more information, visit www.difx.ae

For more information:
Maha Karara
UNB
Ph: 02 6984809(Dir)
Fax: 02 6722 726
Email: maha.m.karara@unb.ae

Brian Carvalho
Asda'a Public Relations
Ph: 02 6334133 (Ext: 286)
Fax: 02 6334233
Email:b.carvalho@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2008