Bank of America Merrill Lynch has put forward a recommendation of investing in UAE banking stocks, particularly that of First Gulf Bank (FGB), added to real estate sector giant Aldar Properties.

Its recent report on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the leading financial management and advisory bank noted that it continues to prefer FGB’s strong capital and high revenue.

FGB has a good chance of raising its share returns amid high capital and low borrowing, the report added.

Merrill Lynch estimated FGB’s share returns to surge by 18% by the end of the year.

Moreover, real estate company Aldar Properties is said to begin a new phase that should be in favour of its stocks, the US Bank said, indicating that there is a number of projects in the pipeline for the Company that will increase its assets in renting and raise its property sales in Abu Dhabi.