DUBAI - Dubai-based lender Mashreq will close 50 percent of its branches this year as part of a digital transformation, its chief executive Abdulaziz al-Ghurair said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia, Writing by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Kim Coghill) ((Saeed.Azhar@thomsonreuters.com; +971 44536787; Reuters Messaging: saeed.azhar.reuters.com@reuters.net))