National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) aims to become the largest, safest and best performing bank in UAE and GCC, the bank’s CEO said outlining its expansion strategy.

Alex Thursby, who became the group chief executive officer of NBAD in July, said the bank plans to establish eight banking hubs in major cities and five franchises in the largest and fastest growing economies in West-East corridor.

Thursby is spearheading strategies built around three geographical pillars: 1. Home Market - to build the largest, safest and best performing bank in the UAE and overtime in GCC; 2.  Wholesale - to deepen wholesale network across the West-East Corridor and integrate the bank’s European and North American platforms into this network; and  3. Build five international bank franchises in the largest and fastest growing economies in the West-East Corridor.

The banking hubs will be set up in Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Lagos, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Washington DC.

The bank’s West-East Corridor strategy will utilise UAE’s and NBAD’s strong fundamentals as well as the country’s strategic location to tap into the growing economies that span from West Africa across to East Asia, the bank said.

The ‘Corridor’ includes increasingly important economies in the Mena, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and greater China regions. This region represents vast potentials with unlimited resources, growing economic activities, and an emerging middle class, it said.

NBAD’s Wholesale Banking has identified five sectors that align to the bank’s strategy as financial institutions: energy, aviation and transportation, real estate, family conglomerates and retailers.

NBAD, which has the widest international network among UAE banks with operations in 18 countries, will continue to strengthen its European and North American platforms. However, its growth concentration is focused on emerging markets in West-East Corridor where economies grow faster than in developed markets, the bank said.

To strengthen NBAD’s position to achieve these strategies, the bank implemented transformations in the third quarter, including re-alignment of businesses.

“To streamline our operations, one priority area is to build an organisation structure that is simple and scalable, with no duplications,” said Thursby. “NBAD’s objective is to be core to our chosen customers and successfully execute our strategy. Early momentum has continued and we are implementing our new structure with pace across the Group and I am pleased with how smooth the transition is progressing,” said Thursby. – TradeArabia News Service