Abu Dhabi: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the emirate’s biggest lender said on Tuesday it has launched a €1 billion French Certificate of Deposit (CD) programme which offers greater diversification to institutional investors and corporate treasuries.
“The maximum amount to purchase under this program is 1 billion euro. The interest rate depends on maturity period (from 1 day to 1 year), and the currency it is issued under. The rate would be aligned with other short-term papers issued by NBAD, such as Euro-CP or London CD,” NBAD said in a statement.
It added: “The multi-currency CD is issued under the STEP (Short Term European Papers) label, giving the program eligibility as collateral for European Central Bank operations. The CD, which is offered in euro, British pounds, US dollars and Swiss francs, is a short-term program with a maturity of up to 365 days.”
“NBAD is launching structered deposit products reflecting the high level of liquidity in the UAE, especially with the premier banks like NBAD. The yields may not be high, but it will be a safe product,” a Dubai-based analyst told Gulf News, reacting to the NBAD announcement.
NBAD is rated senior long term/short term A+/A-1 by Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Aa3/P1 by Moody’s, AA-/F1+ by Fitch, A+ by Rating and Investment Information Inc (R&I) Japan, and AAA by RAM (Malaysia).
NBAD-Paris was launched in 1979. It is part of NBAD’s international network, which spans 19 countries across five continents from the Far East to Americas.
“This CD program offers geographical diversification to French investors who also appreciate NBAD’s top rating and safety,” Reynald Nicod, the Treasurer at NBAD-Paris was quoted as saying.
NBAD’s fiscal first quarter net profit rose 35.5 per cent on year to Dh1.41 billion. The growth in the quarter was primarily due to higher investment, fee and net interest income,” NBAD said in April.
NBAD’s stock on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), yesterday, closed 1.2 per cent higher at Dh12.60.
