Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Equity weight of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) represents around 37% of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange's (ADX) total equity weight by the end of May.

The bank, which is listed under the symbol NBAD, also weighs around 0.65% of the MSCI Emerging Market Index and around 1.02% on the Bloomberg GCC Index, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported, citing FAB data presented to senior investors.

This equity weight update follows the merger between the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) in April this year to form the UAE's largest Islamic bank and the region's largest banking entity.

"As per ADX rules and regulations, the index value is calculated based on the free-float shares being traded, i.e. the equity weight of every listed company depends on the number of equities available for trading only, excluding other restricted shares held by government departments or company insiders during their trading ban period," WAM explained

Free-float shares are important to potential investors as they offer information and insight into the company's stock volatility.

FAB tops UAE banks in terms of the number of free-float shares, which are estimated at roughly 7.3 billion equities, WAM said, noting that this figure "explains the increased liquidity available over the past two months."

Company stocks with a small free float are often more volatile than their larger counterparts owing to their limited number of shares that can be traded, whereas larger companies with bigger free floats tend to be less volatile.

ADX statistics show that AED 1.5 billion in transactions were executed over NBAD's share during April and May, or right after the merger was completed.