Sanpaolo IMI, major Italian Bank, inaugurates its representative office in Dubai

The ceremony held in Bur Dubai, was officiated by the Italian Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade Mr. Adolfo Urso.

The Sanpaolo IMI office in Dubai will be an important point of reference for Italian companies in the entire Gulf region, be it for direct investment or import-export business with local partners. It will also be involved in developing relationships with banking institutions and promoting investments in Italy.

Sanpaolo IMI, historical evolution of the "Compagnia di San Paolo" established in 1563 is the third largest Italian Banking Group by total assets (US$ 270 billion) and by far the largest domestic asset manager (US$ 184 billion) with a strong specialisation in financial services to the Retail segment, Corporate and Investment Banking activities.

In Italy, where the Group has its core business, after the integration and merger with other Italian banks, Sanpaolo IMI has a fairly even presence all over the country. Through more than 3,000 branches, it serves over seven million customers, with a market share of 10% of the Italian market.

The direct presence of Sanpaolo IMI overseas has now risen to a total of 33 countries, covered through a network of 13 branches, 19 representative offices, 2 operational desks, 1 subsidiary and 3 controlled banks.

Founded in 1968, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with total assets of US$15.3 billion as of December 31, 2004. With about 2,000 employees, NBAD has the largest branch and ATM network in the UAE. The bank's activities are divided into three core banking areas: Domestic Banking Division, offering corporate, consumer, private and elite banking services; Investment Banking Division, dealing in money markets, foreign exchange, capital markets, corporate finance, brokerage services, structured finance and asset management; and International Banking Division, which includes an overseas network of 19 branches in Egypt, Oman, Bahrain, Sudan, the United Kingdom and France. National Bank of Abu Dhabi also has a wholly owned subsidiary in the United States. More information is available at www.nbad.com.

NBAD has the strongest credit ratings among Middle East commercial banks, assigned A and A-1 for long and short-term respectively by Standard & Poor's.