Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Group said it has achieved full integration of Union National Bank (UNB) and Al Hilal Bank significantly ahead of schedule, completing a complex three-way merger process that has created a fully unified, powerful and resilient banking group.

 

Following the historic merger in May last year, ADCB accomplished full integration in only 11 months – less than half the original expected timeframe – surpassing regional and global benchmarks for major bank mergers.

 

Meticulous planning, testing and a robust governance framework paved the way for effective and smooth implementation of the integration process, while ensuring uninterrupted, high quality service for customers, said a statement from ADCB.

 

Within weeks of the legal completion of the merger, the Abu Dhabi lender had harmonised policies, unified treasury functions and activated a new organisational structure and operating model. 

 

After only five months, the ADCB brand was rolled out across all physical and digital platforms and customers benefitted from an optimised network of 72 branches and over 450 ATMs across the UAE.

 

Meanwhile, Al Hilal Bank launched a new digital strategy, which focuses on offering retail customers Shari’ah -compliant products and services through digital channels. This followed the 100% migration of Wholesale and SME customers to ADCB’s Islamic wholesale banking platform in the second and third quarters of 2019.

 

In the final milestone completed last week, banking systems were unified, with former UNB customers transferring to ADCB systems, applications and digital banking platforms. 

 

Cross-functional teams across the Bank worked round the clock to ensure a smooth transition in a short 38-hour window with minimal downtime for systems and channels. This was achieved in challenging circumstances, as 90% of the integration teams worked remotely due to current health and safety guidelines.

 

ADCB Group CEO Ala’a Eraiqat said: "The integration of three banks into a fully unified organisation in only 11 months is a tremendous achievement. The combination of ADCB, UNB and Al Hilal Bank into a larger and stronger banking group was driven by an ambition to continuously evolve to deliver excellent service to our customers and to create value for all our stakeholders."

 

"These aims guided our approach to integration, with teams across the organisation fully focused on smooth and effective delivery. It is a matter of pride that our strong culture and values contributed to a successful integration, with no compromise on the Bank’s high-quality customer service levels," he added.-TradeArabia News Service