First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), launched a $500 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, on Monday, a document showed, pricing tighter than guidance on strong demand for the issue. The spread on the five-year sukuk was set at 90 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries at launch, tightened from final guidance of around 95bps earlier in the day after orders of over $1.35 billion, the document showed. Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector were mandated joint lead managers on the deal.

First Abu Dhabi Bank reported a 19% rise in its net income for the first nine months of the year as its core business improved significantly amid a rise in interest income and a fall in provisions for bad loans. Net profit attributable to shareholders in the period to the end of September surged to about Dh11 billion ($3 billion), the lender said in October.