Shareholders of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) have approved the transfer of its legacy FGB banking licence to ADQ, one of the region's largest holding companies, paving way to establish and list a new digital bank.

Under the terms of the agreement, FAB will transfer ownership of its legacy FGB banking license to ADQ in exchange for 10 percent of the new entity’s share capital, and preferential access to another 10 percent of the shares in the event of an Initial Public Offering, IPO.

ADQ is set to establish the new digital bank with an initial capital of approximately AED 2 billion.

The licence transfer supports FAB’s digital strategy to explore new business models and foster new opportunities to innovate and unlock the transformative power of technology and data to deliver the most secure, convenient and relevant financial services.

Mohamed Hassan Al Suwaidi, CEO of ADQ, said: "At ADQ, we have identified the opportunity to create a standalone digital bank to further enhance Abu Dhabi’s digital economy while strengthening our financial services portfolio. In a world that has seen a rapid digital transformation this year, it is no surprise that there is greater demand than ever for digital banking services."

"The success of a digital bank is predicated on developing strong governance to adhere to the proper regulations, a flexible technology architecture that allows for a customer-centric journey and solid leadership experience. We thank FAB’s shareholders for approving the transfer of the legacy banking license to put us on the path to begin developing this independent bank that we envision," he added.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(seban.scaria@refintiv.com)

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