First Gulf Bank although a couple of years ago has shown several signs of a possible bankruptcy, had been luckily saved by the Emirates government and ever since, if has gotten wings and ranked as the second best bank of the United Arab Emirates. Let us see what First Gulf Bank offers for its clients.
First Gulf Bank is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The ownership is parted between several members of the Sheikh family of Abu Dhabi. The bank was established in 1979 in Ajman. The First Gulf Bank offers diverse retail, commercial and investment banking possibilities all over the UAE. The bank is said to be the most dynamically growing banks of the country having its branches in Dubai, Ajman, Sharjah and Al Ain too. The First Gulf Bank is also known on the name Bank Al Khaleej Al Awal all around the region. The bank has cased some hard times in the end of the Nineties and can thank its existence to some strong investors who have practically saved the bank from total bankruptcy at the time. Thanks to this step the bank has entirely changed all levels of management and also have come out with a fresh, modern image, with up-to-date services and with the offering good investment possibilities for both individuals and commercial clientele. According to the recent statistics First Gulf Bank is counted as the second best banks in the United Arab Emirates, it has also received the distinction of being notably the fastest emerging banks of the UAE and the bank has also the best telephone and direct customer service.
Among the services of the First Gulf Bank, we can find 4 main segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, International Business, Investment, Treasury. Let us see all these sectors in details concerning their services:
Retail Banking: First Gulf Bank has three main departments named: Accounts and Deposits, Loans and Mortgages, First Wealth. In the retail banking sector there are also offices that deal with credit and debit cards, the bank’s own insurance program which is called Bancassurance, the Emarati Al Awwal Service, National Housing Loans, Safe Deposit Lockers and the bank’s Islamic Banking Department which deals only with Islamic banking and it’s called Al Siraj.
Wholesale Banking: First Gulf Bank’s Wholesale banking unit mainly equals the corporate banking with the addition of the Syndicate department that concentrates on the big corporations and syndicates. The offices of Wholesale include MNC Banking, Liability Unit, and Transaction Banking together with its corporate customer service.
Investment sector introduces the clients with all the international and national investment possibilities that lie in the investing in hedge funds, GCC Equities, Global Equities, Fixed Income Investments, Private Equity and the Bank’s own Al Sayer Fund investment plan.
Treasury is a specialised unit within First Gulf Bank that deals with specific issues, organizations and even governmental plans.
International Business Sector on one hand introduces clients with the overseas branches of the First Gulf Bank; on the other hand, clients can get to know some overseas banking rules and conditions as well.
As you see, First Gulf Bank is really introducing us to a very complex version of all the banking services at one place, which is a great way to deal with all sorts of clientele and to get all the most clients. First Gulf Bank’s Dubai branches are located on Banks Street, Abu Baker Rd. in Deira, and between the 3rd and 4th interchange of Sheikh Zayed Road.