Mubasher: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) stated that it strongly rejects Bloomberg’s news report regarding a possible merger between FAB and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB).

The bank has not entered any negotiation with ADIB to execute any merger business, the UAE’s largest lender said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg said: “Abu Dhabi is considering combining Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC to create the Middle East’s largest lender, according to people with knowledge of the matter.”

FAB’s spokesman noted that the bank usually does not comment on any rumours in the market, but it strongly denies this news. 

Following the recent technical merger of the systems, FAB’s efforts currently focus on achieving the largest benefit to its shareholders during 2019, the spokesman added, according to the press release. 

It is noteworthy that both FAB and ADIB are both listed on the ADX.