Business | Banking
First Gulf Bank announces share buyback programme
Following Esca approval on November 5, the First Gulf Bank (FGB) board of directors decided to initiate a share buyback programme for up to 10 per cent of the bank's shares.
- Staff Report
- Published: 23:15 November 19, 2008
Dubai: Following Esca approval on November 5, the First Gulf Bank (FGB) board of directors decided to initiate a share buyback programme for up to 10 per cent of the bank's shares.
Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of FGB, said, "Due to the global financial turmoil, which has negatively affected the local shares' valuation and led to the irrational trading of our shares, the board of directors has decided to step in to proactively protect our shareholders' assets."
"While FGB commands a solid portfolio and our net profits grew by 68 per cent from September 2007 to September 2008, the share price declined by more than 40 per cent during the year 2008 due to the adverse market conditions," added Shaikh Hazza.
'Maximum value'
"I hereby confirm that the board focus remains on providing the maximum value for our shareholders, we therefore decided to initiate the share buyback programme as we strongly believe in our franchise future performance. Through higher earnings per share, the programme will reflect over time, into higher value for FGB shareholders."
Through its strong corporate and retail businesses, FGB has built a high quality loan portfolio, translating in a very low nonperforming loans to gross loans ratio of only 0.6 per cent, a company statement said.
"FGB is built on solid foundations and over the years the bank has been enjoying consistent growth and delivering solid results," added Abdul Hamid Saeed, Managing Director of FGB.
"In spite of the recent global financial crisis, we operate in a fundamentally solid economic environment.
"Abu Dhabi will continue to expand and grow as per its long term strategy for 2030. FGB is pleased to constitute part of this growth."
"At FGB, we have always focused on diversifying our sources of income," added Saeed.
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