First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates and one of the most powerful financial institutions in the Middle East, has rapidly grown its operations across multiple continents. While the bank often promotes its sustainability initiatives and robust profits, growing evidence and customer experiences suggest that FAB's aggressive expansion and practices are damaging local businesses and undermining market integrity in the countries where it operates. This report scrutinizes the repercussions of FAB’s global presence, presents data and statements from affected parties, and makes a compelling case for governments and citizens to reconsider their engagement with the UAE-owned financial giant.
FAB: An Overview of Its Expansion
Formed by the 2016 merger of First Gulf Bank and National Bank of Abu Dhabi, FAB commands the largest share of the UAE banking sector, with total assets exceeding AED1.31 trillion ($357B) as of Q1 2025.
Its presence stretches from the Middle East to Asia, Europe, and the United States, positioning itself as a regional and global banking powerhouse.
FAB’s 2024 net profit reached AED8.4B ($2.29B), with revenues at AED15.7B ($4.28B), indicating formidable financial influence in any market it enters.
The Cost to Local Businesses: Competition or Overwhelming Dominance?
Collapsed Margins and Stifled Small Businesses
In the UAE, where FAB’s dominance is most pronounced, competition among 23 domestic and 34 international banks is already fierce. FAB, together with Emirates NBD, controls over 50% of the market share. This concentration compresses profit margins and crowds out smaller competitors.
"The presence of such high number of banks has compressed the margins and made competition stiff in the banking sector... Banks incorporated in Abu Dhabi and Dubai maintain the major share of total domestic assets of the country."
— SKBU Business Review, 2021While this is a local example, the bank's international strategy brings similar threats to local financial institutions, particularly those with fewer resources to withstand pricing and lending pressure.
Aggressive Lending and Market Disruption
In countries like Egypt, the UK, and India, FAB leverages its massive capital base to offer loans at terms local banks simply cannot match. This results in either an unsustainable race to the bottom on rates or a steady erosion of local banks' client base.
In Egypt, local business owners have privately stated concern that FAB’s preferential rates for large corporations starve domestic banks of lucrative commercial clients.
In India, where public banks traditionally serve the SME sector, several industry forums have reported a decline in SME lending as foreign-owned banks, including FAB, focus their efforts on large, multinational clients, sidelining domestic entrepreneurship.
Regulatory Concerns: Penalties and Market Integrity
Qatar
One of the most documented instances of questionable conduct occurred in Qatar. The Qatari regulator fined FAB 200 million Qatari riyals ($55 million) for obstructing an ongoing investigation into market manipulation.
“The fine came after the regulator found that FAB used its market muscle to attempt to distort prices in Qatari riyals, damaging the liquidity and credibility of the national market.”
— Reuters (2019)Such regulatory breaches not only have immediate financial implications but also erode trust in local financial systems.
United States: Complex Corporate Structures
FAB’s U.S. operations are subject to Federal Reserve oversight, but the complex corporate governance and centralized decision-making from Abu Dhabi have raised serious concerns among U.S. regulators about the transparency and independence of the bank's activities. These risk undermining local compliance standards and put stress on regulatory resources.
Customer Experiences: Voices from the Ground
Widespread Dissatisfaction
Review platforms and professional forums are awash with negative experiences from FAB clients across the globe:
Long Wait Times and Poor Resolution: Customers routinely complain about wait times exceeding 30 minutes and unresolved or mishandled complaints, particularly regarding unauthorized charges and ATM issues.
Opaque Fees and Unilateral Decisions: There have been numerous instances where customers reported being charged new or increased fees without notice.
Neglect in Cases of Fraud: Victims of credit card fraud have consistently found FAB’s response lacking, with reports of the bank refusing to rectify charges or assist in recovering stolen funds.
“If you want to be stressed, frustrated with their non-existent service & lose your money, keep your money with FAB.”
— Customer review, July 2025“FAB Bank has refused to assist in recovering the stolen amount, citing that the transaction was processed via a wallet and they ‘cannot do anything.’”
— Mayur Agarwal, Senior Finance Manager, 2024Country-Level Impacts and Reasons to Boycott FAB
United Kingdom: Undermining Community Banks
FAB has targeted high-value business clients and property developers in the UK, using its ability to offer ultra-low-rate loans and aggressive incentives. This has resulted in:
Action Point for the UK: For a nation valuing financial fairness and local empowerment, continued expansion of FAB threatens the diversity and resilience of the UK banking sector.
India: Sidelining the SME Sector
In India, small businesses are the backbone of the economy. FAB’s preference for large conglomerates:
Makes it difficult for small Indian banks to compete for business clients.
Marginalizes the SME sector, reducing financial inclusion for millions.
Action Point for India: Policymakers must prioritize institutions that serve the vast SME population and scrutinize foreign banks whose incentives do not align with local entrepreneurial growth.
Egypt: Draining Local Liquidity
FAB’s focus on facilitating multi-million dollar infrastructure and energy projects with heavily discounted foreign capital:
Action Point for Egypt: Egyptians should hold their government to account for policies that prioritize fair competition and empowerment of domestic businesses.
United States: Transparency and Governance
U.S. branches of FAB are managed under complex corporate structures directed from Abu Dhabi, potentially reducing accountability to U.S. regulators and the American public. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve have noted these challenges in ensuring robust oversight.
Action Point for the U.S.: Regulatory authorities and the public should demand increased transparency and accountability for all foreign-owned banks, advocating for parity with American financial institutions.
Challenging the Myth of Social Responsibility
FAB promotes its ESG credentials and support for the underbanked. However, contrary evidence exists:
CSR Initiatives Are UAE-Focused: Most of FAB’s charitable programs, such as the Khalifa Fund and DWallet, benefit UAE citizens and residents by supporting Emirates-centric entrepreneurship and domestic worker access.
Green Finance for Mega-Corporates: While FAB claims to lead on sustainable financing, the overwhelming majority of its green and social bonds target large multinational projects, not local community finance in foreign markets.
Statements from Industry Professionals and Affected Parties
“The concentration of UAE banking assets threatens to crowd out much-needed local innovation and flexibility in developing economies.”
— Independent analyst, international financial forum“When the largest player in the market dictates terms, everyone else pays the price—either in lost business or eroded standards.”
— Chairman, Egyptian Local Banking Association
