UAE’s FAB to be top foreign bank in Egypt after Bank Audi deal

First Abu Dhabi Bank has agreed to buy the Egyptian business of Lebanon’s Bank Audi in a deal which will make the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates also one of the biggest foreign banks in Egypt.

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FAB’s first international acquisition will increase its Egyptian business to more than $8 billion in assets, while the sale proceeds will help Bank Audi’s capitalization and financial resilience, the banks said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The sale of Bank Audi’s assets in Egypt comes as Lebanese banks are face the country’s worst financial crisis since its civil war. Bahrain’s Bank ABC this week said it had agreed to buy the Egyptian subsidiary of Lebanon’s Blom Bank for 6,700 million Egyptian pounds ($427.30 million).

The value of the deal to buy Bank Audi’s Egypt unit, which had total assets of $5.3 billion at the end of September last year, was not disclosed, but the two banks said it is expected to be completed within the next few months, with regulatory approvals in the UAE and Egypt still required.

UBS advised FAB and EFG Hermes was adviser to Bank Audi on the deal, which came after talks between the two banks resumed late last year following a suspension in May during the coronavirus outbreak.