Dubai Islamic Bank Is Said To Consider Acquiring Noor Bank

Dubai Islamic Bank, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Islamic lender, is considering buying its smaller rival Noor Bank, people with knowledge of the talks said.

The bank has held preliminary discussions with Dubai-based Noor Bank’s shareholders, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal. The acquisition would create a lender with $75 billion in assets.

The Middle East’s financial industry is witnessing a wave of consolidation as banks seek ways to improve competitiveness and boost capital amid slowing economic growth.

Abu Dhabi is in the process of merging three of its banks after combining two in 2017. Banks in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain are also holding merger talks.

Investment Corp. of Dubai, the emirate’s main state-owned holding company, is the largest shareholder in Dubai Islamic Bank with a 28 percent stake. It’s also one of the biggest investors in Noor Bank, a lender set up in 2008.

Dubai Islamic Bank had assets of 224 billion dirhams ($61 billion) at the end of 2018 compared with Noor Bank’s 51 billion dirhams, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Officials at Dubai Islamic Bank and Noor Bank declined to comment, while Investment Corp. of Dubai didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

For all the latest banking and finance news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.

Subscribe to Arabian Business' newsletter to receive the latest breaking news and business stories in Dubai,the UAE and the GCC straight to your inbox.

RECENT NEWS

Emicool Secures First-ever Green Financing To Boost Sustainable Growth

The liquidity generated will be strategically deployed to accelerate the company’s district cooling projects across t... Read more

UAEs Ruya Becomes First Global Islamic Bank To Offer Shariah-compliant Crypto Trading

Digital Islamic bank ruya teams up with Fuze to offer secure, ethical crypto investments aligned with Islamic financial... Read more

Startups In Abu Dhabis Hub71 Secured $2.17bn In Funding Last Year

Hub71 startups in Abu Dhabi saw massive increase in funding in 2024 as innovation economy thrives Read more

UAE Fintech Pay10 First To Launch On Central Banks Open Finance Framework

The company has acknowledged the Central Bank of the UAE's crucial role in facilitating a responsible and secure rollou... Read more

PayPal Expands In MEA Region With Its Newly Launched Hub In Dubai

Will serve 80 countries in Middle East and Africa from its Dubai Internet City hub; Has signed several deals with regio... Read more

New Board Certifies DMCC Tradeflow As Fully Shariah Compliant

Shariah Supervisory Board appointed to oversee Tradeflow’s Islamic finance offering; Certified fully-compliant with A... Read more