Ahli United Bank’s (AUB) focused regional growth strategy, strong performance and recent strategic acquisitions in Kuwait, Iraq and Egypt make it the most prominent regional player in the Middle East over the past year or more.
While not the biggest bank in the region, the Bahrain-based bank has acquired a 75% controlling stake in Bank of Kuwait & the Middle East (BKME), 49% of the Commercial Bank of Iraq (CBIQ) and, through a consortium, 89.5% of Egypt’s Delta International Bank. Along with 54.8% growth in net profits and 70.7% growth in assets in 2005, AUB has demonstrated that it has been genuinely able to profitably pursue a regional approach in an area not known for cross-border strategies.
Group CEO and managing director Adel El-Labban notes: “Ahli United Bank differentiates itself from its peers by adopting a strategy of focused regional expansion through mergers and acquisitions and organic growth as its major growth strategy. Our initial creation was through a share swap business combination between United Bank of Kuwait, the oldest Gulf-owned UK bank, and Al Ahli Commercial Bank and Grindlays Bank [Bahrain] BSC, two leading Bahraini commercial banks.
“Our goal is meaningful market presence through a circa 10% market share in our targeted countries. AUB seeks to service its local clients in each market as an experienced, established local player with a regional and UK dimension provided through its other group banks. Our path to date has involved the successful challenging of much conventional wisdoms regarding barriers to change and cross-border banking in the region. It is essentially proof that where there is a will, there is a way.”
