UAE-based private equity company Gulf Islamic Investments has fully acquired Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB), a digital trade finance lender, from Mubadala Investment Company for an undisclosed sum. ATGB is a joint venture between AGTB Holdings, a Rowland family-controlled company, and Mubadala.
AGTB is a Category 1 digital bank licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the international financial center. AGTB is a digital bank licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, and is described as the world’s first digitally-enabled trade bank, GII said on Wednesday.
Based on the innovation-friendly environment of ADGM, AGTB was set up to address a growing gap in the trade finance market, which has become highly fragmented. As the first digital bank of the ADGM, it provides its customers with technology-enabled smart banking solutions in a well-regulated eco system. Gulf Islamic Investments private equity, real estate, and venture capital company with over $3 billion of assets under management.
Digital-only banks are not a new concept in the UAE. In the first half of 2017, Emirates NBD launched Liv. bank, which is aimed at millennials. Mashreq, Dubai’s oldest lender, also unveiled Mashreq Neo in the same year. The bank was set up in 2018 by Mubadala as the world’s first digitally-enabled trade bank, in collaboration with AGTB Holdings Limited, a company controlled by the Rowland family. Digital banks have become more popular, largely driven by an increasingly technology-savvy customer base and increased preference for online banking after the Covid-19 pandemic.
It aims to address a growing gap in the trade finance market and support commerce between companies in the Middle East, the UK, and Asia through blockchain technology. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the biggest Sharia-compliant lender in the emirate, set up a digital-only bank called Amwali last year to tap into the UAE’s growing segment of technology-savvy youths.
Independent digital banks are also entering the market, including Al Maryah Community Bank, which licenses by the UAE Central Bank in April last year. This was followed by the launch of the UAE’s first independent digital bank, Zand, which caters to retail and corporate clients.
Gulf Islamic Investments private equity, real estate, and venture capital company with over $3 billion of assets under management. The total capital invested in Abu Dhabi-based Wio is Dh2.3 billion ($626 million), plus “in-kind contribution”, ADQ said earlier this year. ADQ and Alpha Dhabi hold a controlling stake of 65 percent while e& holds 25 percent. FAB has the remaining 10 percent.
