Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, the UAE's third-largest bank by assets, said it is holding talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group to buy the UK bank's retail banking assets in the UAE.
The talks "may or may not lead to the acquisition of RBS retail banking business in the UAE," ADCB's Chief Executive Officer Ala'a Eraiqat said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse yesterday.
"No definitive agreement has been reached at this juncture."
Global plan
RBS, the 83 per cent government-owned bank, is selling assets as part of a global plan announced in February last year to scale back its international presence.
RBS acquired the UAE consumer banking unit in 2007 after a group including RBS, Banco Santander and Fortis bought ABN Amro Holding for about $98.5 billion (Dh361 billion) in the world's biggest banking takeover.
The sale of the UAE unit is subject to regulatory approval.
The transaction is valued at about $280 million in total, two bankers said. A third banker said the amount was likely to be lower.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank would not need to borrow money to finance a deal with RBS, Eraiqat said.
No surrender
RBS will not surrender its UAE banking licence with the sale of the unit.
The business included a credit card, personal and private-banking business said Simon Penney, RBS's chief executive officer for the Middle East and Africa.
The buyer would be a bank that already has a permit to operate in the country, Penney said.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank shares climbed 1.1 per cent to Dh1.84 yesterday in the capital, bringing the gain this year to 18 per cent.
