Emirates Islamic Bank chief executive resigns

Emirates Islamic Bank chief executive resigns

Deputy CEO to serve as acting chief executive; General manager of retail to act as deputy CEO; Emirates Islamic seen as candidate to buy Dubai Bank

May 18, 2011 3:48 by Reuters

The chief executive of Emirates Islamic Bank, an affiliate of Emirates NBD , has resigned and his deputy has been appointed acting CEO, the lender said on Wednesday.

A statement gave no reason for Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi’s departure.

He will be replaced by deputy chief executive Abdullah Showaiter, who also serves as the lender’s general manager of corporate and investment banking.

Faisal Aqil, general manager of retail banking, will take on the role of acting deputy CEO, the bank said in the statement.

Officials at Emirates Islamic or ENBD were not immediately available for comment.

Emirates Islamic Bank posted a first quarter loss of 20 million dirhams last month, compared with net profits of 66.6 million dirhams the year before.

“I wouldn’t read too much into the resignation but maybe it does mean it’s an indication of changes to come,” said Robert McKinnon, chief investment officer at ASAS Capital. “It’s possible that it may indicate changes for a possible marriage between different entities.”

The bank had been touted as a possible candidate to buy troubled Islamic lender, Dubai Bank.

Dubai’s government took control of Dubai Bank on Monday to prevent a collapse from undermining the Gulf Arab state’s banking sector.
The Dubai government said it would consider merging it with another state-owned bank, with analysts speculating that Emirates Islamic may be required to take on the bank.

Emirates Islamic’s parent, ENBD, was formed in 2007 after Dubai’s ruler ordered the merger of two local banks.

Shares of Emirates NBD ended up 0.3 percent on Wednesday. (Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; Editing by Amran Abocar)