UNB mandates 4 banks for bond

ABU DHABI: Union National Bank jointly owned by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has picked four banks for investor meetings ahead of a potential dollar bond issue, two sources said on Sunday.

HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered Plc, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank have been mandated for a Reg S deal, one banker familiar with the matter said.

"We have the plan but the exact timing of the road-shows are not yet finalised," a UNB executive said, confirming that the lender had mandated banks for the potential sale.

In February, Nasr Abdeen, chief executive of UNB told Reuters the bank might issue a benchmark dollar bond sale in the first half of the year to prop up its balance sheet.

Abu Dhabi entities such as Dolphin Energy and Tourism Development Investment Company (TDIC) put off bond sales after holding road shows recently due to market conditions.

"Bonds are bouncing back after the weekend European Union deal on a Greek bailout and this is encouraging for issuers," the banker said.

UNB shares closed down 1.4 percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse Sunday.

Copyright Reuters, 2011