DUBAI- First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates, has raised 260 million Swiss francs ($292.10 million) through the first green bonds deal of its kind, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The six-year bonds are the bank's fifth green issuance but the first in Swiss francs for the Middle East and North Africa region.

They were priced at 0.068%, inside its Swiss francs curve, FAB said.

Green bonds have gained in popularity as a category of fixed-income securities that raise capital for projects with environmental benefits, such as renewable energy. 

"FAB is committed to green and sustainable finance and we have now issued green bonds in three different currencies and will continue to issue in this format opportunistically," Rula al-Qadi, head of group funding, said in the statement. ($1 = 0.8901 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Yousef Saba; editing by Barbara Lewis) ((Yousef.Saba@thomsonreuters.com; +971562166204))