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FAB Private BankingFP
FAB Private Banking review

First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C.

Two stars: an owner's home jurisdiction under increased monitoring.

Booking centreUnited Arab Emirates
RegulatorCentral Bank of the UAE
Legal formLicence holder
GroupFirst Abu Dhabi Bank group
Websitebankfab.com/en-ae
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PPLI.com
Private Bank Rating
2 out of 5 stars
Editorial assessment on UHNW criteria
Reviewed 6 November 2026 · Q4 2026 edition
Updated every quarter
Rating signed byNoam CohenEditor, Bank Intelligence
About the rating
2 out of 5, Q4 2026 edition
Publishedshown as published, not compared
1matter on the record, 2019
Not publishedminimum relationship
The editor's opinion

Why FAB Private Banking has two stars

FAB Private Banking earns two stars. What holds the rating down: only a summary of the custody terms is public. Only part of the tariff is published. In its favour: a minor regulatory finding in the last ten years, with no serious sanction. Not yet documented: whether past findings were remediated and how the law protects custody assets in this centre. These points carry no weight until they are documented.

Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. The rating weighs the public record together with what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence; retail products, branches and apps play no part.

Where FAB Private Banking stands out

  • A minor regulatory finding in the last ten years, with no serious sanction.
  • A broad range of private banking services is published for this booking unit.
  • Ownership and control are fully public.
  • No politically exposed person holds a significant stake.

What to weigh

  • Only a summary of the custody terms is public.
  • Only part of the tariff is published.
  • No public policy on third-party payments or retrocessions.
  • An owner's home jurisdiction is under increased monitoring for money laundering.
  • Remediation of past findings is not documented.
  • Legal protection of custody assets in this centre is still to be documented here.

The rating expresses the opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown. It is not a statement of fact about the bank, not a credit rating, not a forecast of failure and not investment advice.

The record

Regulatory and legal record

What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided, recorded against the legal entity they named, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.

201921 August 2019

Penalty for obstructing an investigation by refusing to produce trading records

The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority imposed a penalty of QAR 200 million, about USD 53.6 million, on First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C. in respect of its Qatar Financial Centre branch, by a decision notice of 21 August 2019, for refusing to produce trading records in an investigation into alleged manipulation of the Qatari riyal and Qatari government securities. The bank had refused even after the QFC Court of First Instance, on 18 November 2018, and its Appellate Division, on 13 May 2019, ordered production. The QFC Court declared the penalty a debt in February 2020, and that judgment was not appealed.

Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA)Final decisionFine QAR 200 millionPrimary source
Clients and standing

Client experience and financial standing

What clients meet at FAB Private Banking, read from complaint registers, ombudsman decisions and court records, independent reporting and what clients and their advisers tell PPLI.com in confidence. Announcements by the bank, awards and marketing material are left out.

UHNW client ratings

3.0 out of 5, based on one client rating for this booking centre.

What clients report

The one adverse decision against the bank, the Qatar penalty of 2019, concerned its refusal to produce trading records to a regulator, not the treatment of clients.

Worth raising with the bank

  • Ask whether the QFCRA investigation into alleged manipulation of the Qatari riyal and Qatari government securities, which the regulator said in 2019 would continue, has ended, and with what result for the bank.

In the press

What it costs

What FAB Private Banking charges, compared

FAB Private Banking does not publish a private banking tariff; the only schedule on its site is written for retail accounts. Its figures are shown below as read on 6 November 2026, so a family knows what the bank puts in public, but they are not compared with the private banking schedules of other banks and earn no fee stars. Private clients of FAB Private Banking are priced individually.

FeeFAB Private BankingOther banksAgainst the others
Equity tradecommission on a USD 250,000 trade, major exchange3.00%stated as a maximum SourceRetail schedule, shown as published and not compared with private banking terms
Bond tradecommission on a USD 500,000 trade3.00%stated as a maximum SourceRetail schedule, shown as published and not compared with private banking terms
Third party fund subscriptionfee on a USD 250,000 subscription3.00%stated as a maximum SourceRetail schedule, shown as published and not compared with private banking terms

Not in the published schedule: custody and safekeeping, discretionary mandate, advisory mandate, currency conversion, account maintenance, minimum annual fee, outgoing international transfer, transfer of securities to another bank, closing the account, lombard loan margin.

Sources.

  1. Trading Services Fee Schedule, read on 6 November 2026

How the comparison works: USD 25 million booked with the bank: half under a discretionary balanced mandate, half in custody with advice; 24 equity trades of USD 250,000 and 8 bond trades of USD 500,000 a year; 6 currency conversions of USD 1 million; 24 outgoing international transfers. Tiered fees are applied to those amounts tranche by tranche, stated minimums are applied, and amounts are converted at indicative rates of 2026-11-06. Read how we compare fees.

The bank at a glance

Identity, protection and services

Legal identity

Legal nameFirst Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C.
LEI2138002Y3WMK6RZS8H90
LicenceOnshore UAE bank (register not opened)
RegulatorCentral Bank of the UAE
Legal formLicence holder
OwnerSet out under Ownership

Ownership

Group parentFirst Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C. (listed, ADX)  Source
ControlMubadala Investment Company (Emirate of Abu Dhabi), via One Hundred and Fifteenth Investment Company Sole Proprietorship L.L.C., 37.9%; state owned  Source (30 September 2026)
Holder of 10% or moreMubadala Investment Company (MIC), held via One Hundred and Fifteenth Investment Company Sole Proprietorship L.L.C., 37.9% in First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C.  Source (30 September 2026)

Ownership is shown as published, with its date. It describes who owns the bank; it does not, by itself, suggest any wrongdoing by the bank or its owners.

Financial strength, as reported

Credit ratingsMoody's Aa3 (long-term) (stable outlook); S&P AA- (long-term) (stable outlook); Fitch AA- (long-term) (stable outlook) Rated entity: First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C.
CET1 ratio13.3% (31 Dec 2025)
Total assetsAED 1,403.9 billion (31 Dec 2025)
Shareholders' equityAED 146.9 billion (31 Dec 2025)
Net profitAED 21.1 billion (31 Dec 2025)

Figures for First Abu Dhabi Bank P.J.S.C. (consolidated). Sources: FAB Annual Report 2025 (copy filed on the HKMA register for FAB's Hong Kong branch): consolidated statement of financial position, Group CFO review; FAB FY'25 results press release (Zawya); FAB - credit ratings.

Services published for this booking unit

Private clients
Discretionary management
Advisory mandates
Custody only (execution and safekeeping)
Lombard lending
Mortgage lending
Multi currency accounts
Trust and fiduciary services
Family office services
Wealth planning
Consolidated reporting
External asset manager desk

Offered at this booking centreOffered by the group, not confirmed hereNot located, which does not mean unavailable
Checked on the bank's own pages, 2 November 2026.

Access and costs

Minimum relationshipNot published
US personsNot published
Fee schedulePublished  Source  Compared below
Third party paymentsNot published
Transfer out termsNot published

Protection of client assets

Deposit protectionNot published
Custody lawNot published
Custody termsNot published

Before opening an account

  • Custody agreement. Ask for the agreement covering the account you would open. Which entity holds the securities, what law governs the account, and where would the assets be held if a sub-custodian is used?
  • A portfolio-backed credit line. If you intend to borrow against the portfolio, ask for the eligibility and haircut schedule, the margin-call timetable and the charges for holding or transferring pledged securities.
  • Transferring assets out. Ask which positions can be transferred without selling them, who approves exceptions, and how charges are calculated for each position and market.
Your experience

Rate FAB Private Banking

If you bank with FAB Private Banking or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.

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Our commitment to confidentiality

Your name, email and telephone number are seen only by the PPLI.com editor. They are never published, never passed to FAB Private Banking or any other bank, and never used for marketing. We may contact you once to clarify your assessment. Once verified by our editors, your assessment can lead to a disclosed adjustment of this bank's PPLI.com rating. It is never published with your name.

Sources

All 10 documents cited on this page, by subject.

Regulatory and legal record

  1. Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA): Penalty for obstructing an investigation by refusing to produce trading records, 21 August 2019qicdrc.gov.qa

Client experience and press

  1. WealthBriefing: Qatar fines First Abu Dhabi Bank US$53 million for obstructing investigation, 28 August 2019wealthbriefing.com

Fees

  1. FAB Private Banking: Trading services fee (PDF)bankfab.com · Fees

Identity, ownership, finances and services

  1. FAB Private Banking: Share profilebankfab.com · Group parent
  2. Hong Kong Monetary Authority: FAB Annual Report 2025 (copy filed on the HKMA register for FAB's Hong Kong branch): consolidated statement of financial position, Group CFO reviewvpr.hkma.gov.hk · Financial strength
  3. zawya.com: FAB FY'25 results press release (Zawya)zawya.com · Financial strength
  4. FAB Private Banking: FAB - credit ratingsbankfab.com · Financial strength
  5. FAB Private Banking: Privatebankfab.com · Services
  6. FAB Private Banking: Wealth solutionsbankfab.com · Services

The bank

  1. FAB Private Banking, websitebankfab.com

For FAB Private Banking

Before we publish a significant negative finding that is not already public, we give the bank the facts and time to comment, on the same timetable for every bank. Decisions of regulators and courts are shown as they were published. Corrections we verify are published with the date of the change. Write to [email protected] quoting reference BK-AE-FAB-02357E.

Reviewing this file with us

Families and their advisers read this file before they open an account. It can only be as complete as the documents we can find, and much of what sets a private bank apart, from its custody terms to the way a client team works, is rarely published.

If you represent FAB Private Banking, one of our Bank Intelligence analysts can go through the file with you: correct anything that is out of date, add terms and documents that are not yet public, and set out what has improved since our last edition. The review is a paid engagement for the analyst's time and research.

The rating itself stays with our editor and follows what the documents show, so we cannot promise a particular result. When a review changes the file, this page notes that the bank took part, with the date and what was added.

Speak to an analyst

About this file

Researched by the PPLI.com research desk from the public sources listed. The rating is our editorial opinion; read how we rate.

Important information. Editorial opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown, based on public information, client experience and editorial judgment. Not a statement of fact, a credit rating or investment, legal, tax or financial advice; verify with the bank and your own advisers before acting. No liability is accepted for reliance on this content. Bank names and logos are used for identification only. Ratings are updated every quarter. This is the Q4 2026 edition, and a rating can change between editions if something material happens. Full disclaimer
Rating signed by Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026Methodology 2.4Reference BK-AE-FAB-02357E
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