Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to establish a digital bank

Abu Dhabi state-owned holding company ADQ plans to set up a digital bank in the United Arab Emirates, using a legacy banking license of the country’s biggest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE lender said on Monday.

FAB, which plans to transfer its license for First Gulf Bank to ADQ, said it intends to own a 10 percent stake in the digital bank and will have access to another 10 percent of the shares at the time of its initial public offering in the future.

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FAB shareholders will vote on the proposal on Oct 20.

First Gulf Bank and rival lender NBAD merged in 2017 to form FAB.

ADQ, which was established in 2018, owns strategic assets such as Abu Dhabi Ports, Abu Dhabi Airport and bourse operator ADX.

It has also build up a portfolio of food and agriculture businesses and recently took a 22 percent stake in Dubai-based courier Aramex.

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