National Bank of Abu Dhabi

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE’s second biggest bank by assets, has a network of 83 branches across the UAE. Its overseas network stretches from Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain in the GCC to Egypt and Sudan in Africa, to London, Paris and Geneva in Europe and Washington DC in the US.

Market observers have speculated that the bank might merge with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ABCB) ever since the merger between Emirates Bank and the National Bank of Dubai in 2007. However, as recently as this month, ABCB’s chairman dismissed the talk about a possible merger as a rumour, nothing more.

NBAD’s fourth quarter profit fell 34 percent on the year to $134m, as it made impairment provisions of $78.7m in the quarter, compared with $4.4m a year ago.

NBAD is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which holds a stake of around 70.5 percent in the company, according to data from Bloomberg.