Overview
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is one of the largest banking institutions in the United Arab Emirates, with total assets exceeding $150 billion. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, ADCB provides a comprehensive range of banking services to retail, corporate, and institutional clients across the UAE and select international markets. The bank is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and benefits from significant Abu Dhabi government ownership.
History and Merger
ADCB was established in 1985 and grew steadily as one of Abu Dhabi’s principal commercial banks. The bank underwent a transformative expansion in 2019 when it merged with Union National Bank (UNB) and acquired Al Hilal Bank. This three-way consolidation created a substantially larger institution, more than doubling ADCB’s asset base and expanding its customer reach across the UAE.
Union National Bank had been established in 1982 and operated primarily in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates. Al Hilal Bank, founded in 2008, operated as a Sharia-compliant Islamic banking institution. The integration of Al Hilal Bank provided ADCB with a dedicated Islamic banking subsidiary, enabling the group to serve both conventional and Islamic banking customers.
The 2019 merger mirrored the earlier NBAD-FGB consolidation that created FAB, reflecting Abu Dhabi’s systematic approach to banking sector rationalisation — reducing the number of mid-sized government-linked banks in favour of fewer, larger, and more competitive institutions.
Ownership
The Abu Dhabi government, through Mubadala Investment Company and other sovereign entities, holds a majority ownership position in ADCB. This sovereign backing provides the bank with strong credit support and strategic alignment with Abu Dhabi’s broader economic development agenda.
Business Operations
Retail Banking constitutes a significant portion of ADCB’s business, serving individual customers through an extensive branch network and digital banking platforms. The bank provides personal loans, mortgages, credit cards, deposits, and wealth management services.
Corporate and Institutional Banking serves mid-market and large corporate clients, providing working capital facilities, trade finance, project finance, and treasury services. ADCB has a strong franchise among Abu Dhabi-based businesses and government-related entities.
Islamic Banking is delivered through Al Hilal Bank, which operates as a subsidiary offering Sharia-compliant products across retail, corporate, and treasury functions.
Treasury and Markets manages the bank’s liquidity, funding, and market-making activities across foreign exchange, fixed income, and derivatives.
Financial Position
ADCB’s total assets exceed $150 billion, positioning it as the third-largest bank in the UAE. The bank maintains solid capitalisation ratios and credit ratings that reflect its government ownership and the quality of its loan portfolio. The post-merger integration has delivered operational efficiencies, improved cost-to-income ratios, and strengthened the bank’s competitive position.
Role in Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
ADCB contributes to the vision’s financial services development objectives by providing credit to the private sector, financing infrastructure and real estate development, and offering the banking services that a diversifying economy requires. The bank’s integration of Islamic banking through Al Hilal Bank also supports Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub for Sharia-compliant financial services.
As the second major Abu Dhabi-headquartered bank after FAB, ADCB provides competitive depth to the emirate’s banking sector — ensuring that businesses and individuals have access to multiple well-capitalised financial institutions with the capacity to support economic growth.
Institutional Significance
ADCB’s merger history illustrates Abu Dhabi’s deliberate strategy of consolidating government-linked financial institutions to create banks with the scale, efficiency, and capitalisation to compete effectively in regional markets. The bank is a significant listed entity on ADX and a material contributor to the emirate’s financial services sector development.