First Abu Dhabi Bank buys Bahrain's Yusira, entering private fund services

Summary

• First Abu Dhabi Bank acquired 100% of Bahrain-based Yusira Financial Services, a fund administration and custody platform.
• The bank did not disclose the transaction value; Yusira will be renamed and folded into FAB's securities services arm.
• The deal pushes the UAE's largest bank into private-market fund servicing, where Gulf asset managers rely on specialist providers.

The latest

First Abu Dhabi Bank has bought the entire share capital of Yusira Financial Services, a Bahraini platform specialising in investment fund administration and custody services, the bank announced on 9 November. FAB described the purchase as a strategic step toward building an integrated securities services offering for asset managers and institutional investors across both public and private markets. The bank did not disclose what it paid.

Details

• The transaction: According to the bank's statement, FAB acquired all shares in Yusira Financial Services, a Bahrain-based provider of fund administration and custody services. No purchase price was disclosed, and the statement did not set out a closing timeline or name any advisers involved in the deal.
• What Yusira does: The platform supports a range of investment strategies spanning publicly traded assets, private equity, venture capital and real estate, served through varied investment entities and structures across multiple markets, the bank said.
• Private-market coverage: On private-market funds, Yusira's services cover the full fund lifecycle, from investor commitments and capital call notices through allocation distribution and financial reporting, and on to final distributions to limited partners, according to the statement.
• The fit with FAB: The bank said those capabilities complement the custody services it already provides for publicly traded assets, allowing regional and international investment managers to access a broader set of solutions through a single securities services platform.
• The platform: The acquisition will strengthen FAB's securities services ecosystem delivered through its MENASSA platform, combining fund administration expertise with the bank's regional and global asset custody, cash management and foreign exchange capabilities.
• The executive view: Pantelis Linos D. Lykas, FAB's Group Head of Investment Banking and Markets, said the regional investment fund sector continues to grow, increasing demand for integrated services, and called the deal an important step in cementing the bank's position in securities services.
• Client continuity: Lykas said the immediate priority is ensuring uninterrupted service for Yusira's existing clients while investing in the platform, its staff and its capabilities, adding that the combination would deepen FAB's regional presence and local market expertise.
• Regulatory complexity: The bank framed the acquisition as a way to support fund managers operating increasingly complex investment structures across markets with "differing regulatory frameworks", a reference to the fragmented rulebooks governing fund domiciliation across the Gulf.
• What changes: Yusira will be renamed and merged into FAB's wider securities services ecosystem, the bank said, broadening the range of services it offers regionally. The statement did not specify the new name or when the rebranding would take effect.

Background

Fund administration — handling capital calls, allocations, reporting and distributions — is typically outsourced by Gulf asset managers to specialist firms or international custodians. Bahrain has positioned itself as a regional base for such financial services providers.

Between the lines

FAB already holds the custody side of the business for publicly traded assets. Buying Yusira adds the private-market fund lifecycle it did not cover, which explains the bank's emphasis on a single unified platform rather than on scale. The reference to differing regulatory frameworks across markets points to where the bank sees managers struggling most, and where an integrated provider can charge for solving it.

What's next

Watch for the renamed entity's integration into the MENASSA platform, any disclosure of deal value in FAB's next financial statements, and whether the bank announces further acquisitions in regional securities services.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM), First Abu Dhabi Bank statement