ADGM awards ‘CAT 1 Bank’ status to world’s 1st licensed digital bank

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB), a global pioneer in digital transaction banking, has received a full digital banking licence and Category 1 status from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

This latest chapter in AGTB’s digitally transformative roadmap heralds a landmark occasion for the Abu Dhabi-headquartered organisation, especially as it is now ADGM’s first fully licensed digital bank. The awarding of the licence is an important step towards AGTB delivering simplified, client-centric, inclusive trade banking and transaction banking services.

As a Category 1 bank, AGTB holds the highest level of financial license within the Abu Dhabi Global Market. This licence category grants AGTB the flexibility to offer a broad range of banking products to corporates, including accepting deposits, providing credit, and advising on investments and credit.

Additionally, AGTB is working closely with ADGM’s Registration Authority (ADGM RA) to enable seamless corporate account opening for ADGM entities by allowing the permissioned exchange of Know Your Customer (KYC) information from ADGMRA to AGTB. This will significantly accelerate and streamline the account opening process for ADGM entities.

Thomas Hirschi, Senior Executive Director and Head of Banking & Insurance, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi Global Market, said, ADGM is pleased to award a full digital banking license to Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank. ADGM is committed to providing an inclusive, well-regulated and market-oriented platform that empowers the banking and financial community and financial innovators to flourish.”

Daniel Gould, Deputy CEO of Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank, added: “The UAE is globally renowned as a digitally-centric hub that thrives off nurturing innovation and new-age thinking for tomorrow’s social and economic betterment.

“As such, the innovation-friendly environment of Abu Dhabi Global Market has offered AGTB a robust foundation for revolutionising the digital finance matrix – first in the UAE, followed by a broader international footprint. This will empower us to bring simple, client-first financial inclusivity and enables us to bolster the UAE capital in becoming a truly world-leading, award-winning financial centre, offering transactional banking services to corporates across the globe.”

AGTB endeavours to become the world’s pre-eminent digital transaction services and trade solutions bank – focusing not only on delivering fundamentally re-imagined, digital-first trade finance solutions to corporates in the Mena region and the world, but also leveraging its unique mix of bank and FinTech DNA to provide Banking as a Service (BaaS) solutions to FinTechs at ADGM. This will empower AGTB to strive for and achieve greater financial inclusivity for oft-underserved client segments.

Launched in 2019 as a collaborative venture between AGTB Holdings Limited and the Mubadala Investment Company, Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank (AGTB) is the answer to the digital age’s need for innovative trade-related financial and banking access for underserved corporate segments.

Headquartered out of Abu Dhabi Global Market in the United Arab Emirates, AGTB was born out of a desire to deliver financial inclusivity to corporate-trade banking clients by challenging conventional mindsets with a disruptive and transformative approach. This strategic location provides AGTB an innovative backdrop to plant the seed for growth and to put the UAE on the map as a global financial hub.

AGTB is bold in its mission to simplify and supply client-centric trade banking propositions by combining FinTech expertise, new technologies, and the courage to reimagine corporate trade banking. The end goal is to offer automated operational flexibility, data integration, and advanced analytics in an accessible, real-time, and transparent manner.

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre (IFC) located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, opened for business on 21 October 2015. Established by UAE Federal Decree as a broad-based financial centre, ADGM augments Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for business and finance and serves as a strategic link between the growing economies of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and the rest of the world.

ADGM’s strategy is anchored by Abu Dhabi’s key strengths including private banking, wealth management, asset management and financial innovation. Comprising three independent authorities: ADGM Courts, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Registration Authority, ADGM as IFC governs the Al Maryah Island which is a designated financial free zone. It enables registered financial institutions, companies and entities to operate, innovate and success within an international regulatory framework based on Common Law. Since its inception, ADGM has been awarded the “Financial Centre of the Year (Mena)” for two consecutive years for its initiatives and contributions to the financial and capital markets industry in the region.