First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE’s biggest lender by assets, has secured $700 million through a five-year benchmark sukuk issued at par, carrying a semi-annual coupon rate of 4.859%.
The senior unsecured Regulation S offering was priced with a reoffer yield of 4.859%, translating to a spread of 85 basis points above US Treasuries, based on a benchmark yield of 4.009%.
Early pricing guidance for FAB’s Wakala/Murabaha sukuk structure was indicated in the area of +115 basis points.
Investor appetite remained strong, with the orderbook surpassing $1.5 billion at launch, excluding joint lead manager orders. Banks and private banks accounted for 62% of allocations, while fund managers represented 28%. Regional demand was led by MENA investors at 50%, followed by the UK and Europe at 23%, while US investors contributed 1%.
The sukuk is being issued under FAB’s $5 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme and carries ratings aligned with the bank’s own credit profile of Aa3 by Moody’s and AA- by Fitch.
The debt instrument is expected to be listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Amid subdued debt capital market activity across the MENA region due to ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to the US-Iran conflict, FAB’s sukuk represents the second major UAE bank issuance within a fortnight. Earlier, Emirates NBD raised $750 million through a perpetual non-call six-year AT1 bond.
The latest sukuk also marks FAB’s fourth debt market transaction in 2026 and its first Islamic issuance this year. Previous fundraising activities included a £450 million ($613 million) sterling-denominated issuance in February, following two separate $750 million issuances completed in January, one of which included a Formosa bond.
FAB previously tapped the sukuk market in January 2025, raising $600 million through a five-year issuance priced at 5.153%, equivalent to US Treasuries plus 70 basis points.
