ABU DHABI- First Abu Dhabi Bank, the biggest lender in the United Arab Emirates, plans to issue $2 billion to $4 billion in bonds in 2019, the group chief financial officer said on Monday.

James Burdett told reporters that the bank expects high single-digit loan growth in 2019, while the bank's profit will be in the mid-single digit range after it reported a 10 percent rise in annual profit in 2018.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Writing by Saeed Azhar, editing by Louise Heavens) ((Saeed.Azhar@thomsonreuters.com; +971 44536787; Reuters Messaging: saeed.azhar.reuters.com@reuters.net))