The dearth of equity financing in the region plays into the hands of firms with strong debt franchises. The local banks are not leaving this business to the internationals and there is one local in particular whose efforts to develop its debt financing capacity should be recognized, not least for tapping into the local investor base.
The result of a merger between National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank - making the region’s biggest bank by assets – First Abu Dhabi Bank benefits from NBAD’s efforts to build up a highly respected debt capital markets platform with a 30-strong regional sales force. In the awards period, as the volume of regional bond issuance quadrupled, according to Dealogic, the NBAD team was the only regional bank in the top 10 in the bookrunner ranking, keeping its place at number five and managing 34 bonds with a total value of just over $6 billion.
The NBAD team’s share of the syndicated loan market rose from fifth to second by volume in the period: again, the only regional team in the top 10. It was number one by number of deals.