UAE’s Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to exit Qatar and Kuwait

The move comes after the bank sold the majority of its banking portfolio in India to DCB Bank.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), which completed a three-way merger in May 2019, plans to exit its operations in Qatar and Kuwait to focus on its home market.

ADCB stated that the lender has started the process of closing operations in both the countries and have informed the authorities.

Additionally, ADCB combined with local rivals Union National Bank (UNB) and Al Hilal Bank to create the Gulf region’s fifth-biggest lender with $110 billion in assets and the third-largest financial institution as well as one of the largest retail banks in the UAE

ADCB reported a 13 per cent decline in net profit in Q3 2019 as interest income fell. The lender’s net profit for Q3 2019 dropped to AED 1.41 billion as operating income plunged seven per cent year-on-year to AED 3.27 billion—the figures are based on results for the combined entity.

The bank said that the integration of its three-way merger with UNB and Al Hilal Bank was accelerating much quicker than expected.

Ala'a Eraqait, ADCB Group Chief Executive, said, “ADCB’s end-to-end integration timeline has been reduced by half to 17 months, bringing forward the completion date to Q2 2020.”

The banking group stated that it now has a network for 72 branches and more than 450 ATMs across the UAE, adding that it has completed the integration of Al Hilal Bank onto its platform, although the Islamic lender will retain its own brand identity.