Shares in Bank of Sharjah surge 5.6 pct to 1.14 dirhams, highest since late May; top percentage mover in Abu Dhabi bourse, where index is down 0.2 pct.

Reuters, citing sources aware of matter, reported Sharjah government is considering possible merger between Bank of Sharjah, Invest Bank and United Arab Bank that could create lender with about 66.2 billion dirhams ($18.0 billion) of assets.

Shares of Investbank and United Arab Bank have not traded so far.

Bank of Sharjah shares are still down 8 pct year-to-date, underperforming Abu Dhabi index, which is up 12 pct.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Andrew Torchia) ((Reuters Messaging: abinaya.vijayaraghavan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))