FirstAbuDhabiBankPJSC, the UAE’s largest lender and a key conduit for the emirate’s petrodollars into the domestic economy, is launching a deep reorganization under the leadership of GroupCEO Hana AlRostamani. From now on, the bank will operate through four strategic verticals: Investment Banking & Markets, Wholesale Banking, Personal, Private & Business Banking and International Banking. Such a matrix model, according to the head, is designed to create “the most powerful financial services franchise and advisory expertise in the entire Gulf”, while optimizing returns for shareholders, Bloomberg has reported.
FAB, partly controlled by Mubadala InvestmentCo., has already tested its global ambitions, considering a bid for Standard CharteredPlc. Today, the emphasis is shifting to internal efficiency: the restructuring is accompanied by rapid staff turnover and large-scale involvement of bankers from HSBC, Citigroup and other international players. The bank emphasizes that the updated architecture will allow for better integration of petrodollar flows into lending, capital markets and digital services, as well as accelerate access to new MENA venues.
Personnel storm within FAB
As part of the reform, Martin Trico — a former top manager at HSBC — will head the Wholesale division, focusing on corporate and institutional business. Instead, Sara Al-Binali is leaving the position of Head of Corporate & Commercial Banking; the bank promises to announce her new role in the near future. Rotations have also affected other key fronts: the names of the heads of Investment Banking and International Banking have not yet been disclosed, while two Citi veterans have already taken up leadership positions in the fresh structure.
Along with the appointments — a wave of resignations. Neil Barrable, Chief Credit Officer, is leaving for personal reasons less than a year after joining from HSBC; Chavan Bhogaita, MD and Global Head of Market Insights & Strategy, is ending a 16-year career at FAB; Gareth Powell, Head of HR, is stepping down from his position to Noora AlRiyassi, who has been with the bank since 2009. The frequent turnover of top management, which has been ongoing for four years, highlights AlRostamani’s desire to quickly implement global banking best practices while also creating a challenge for the stability of the management team.
FAB’s strategic course for scaling
Amid the struggle between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh for the status of the leading financial center in the Middle East, FAB must prove that it is the No. 1 platform for redistributing petrodollars into regional and international assets. The new operational design should accelerate decision-making, reduce cost-to-income and expand the product line – from project finance for energy to wealth management for GCC family offices.
The bank has already announced its intention to compete more actively in the investment banking field and increase synergies with Mubadala to participate in large deals in the field of AI, semiconductors and clean energy, which are emerging after the recent trillion-dollar commitments of the UAE to the US. In the future, FAB may return to the idea of cross-border M&A, but for now the focus is on internal transformation: a digital platform, a new risk culture and a client-centric approach, which should strengthen the bank’s position as the financial “backbone” of the emirate in the post-oil era.