DIB draws demand for capital sukuk

Dubai Islamic Bank has raised $1 billion through a perpetual non-call six-year Additional Tier 1 sukuk, reinforcing investor appetite for Gulf bank capital instruments despite a higher-for-longer global rates environment and periodic volatility across emerging-market debt.

The benchmark Regulation S transaction was priced with a 6.250 per cent profit rate after initial price thoughts were circulated in the 6.625 per cent area. The orderbook rose above $1.85 billion, excluding joint lead manager interest, allowing the lender to tighten pricing and complete the deal at a level that underscored the depth of demand for high-quality regional Islamic credit.

The issuance was carried out through DIB Tier 1 Sukuk Ltd under a mudaraba structure. The instrument was unrated at pricing and is expected to be listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. As an AT1 security, it is designed to strengthen regulatory capital and sits below senior debt in the capital structure, a feature that typically requires a higher yield to compensate investors for additional risk.

The bank, the UAE’s largest Islamic lender, is rated A3 by Moody’s and A by Fitch, with stable outlooks from both agencies. Its investment-grade standing, systemic importance and established access to global sukuk markets helped draw participation from 85 institutional accounts across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Allocation was heavily regional, with 83 per cent placed with investors in the Middle East and North Africa and 17 per cent distributed to the UK, Europe and other international accounts.

The deal comes as Gulf lenders continue to balance strong profitability, loan growth and shareholder distributions with the need to maintain robust capital buffers. Banks across the region have benefited from elevated benchmark rates, healthy liquidity and solid credit conditions, while rising project finance demand, infrastructure spending and corporate expansion have kept balance-sheet growth on the agenda.

For Dubai Islamic Bank, the transaction adds to a series of international capital market exercises that have deepened its sukuk investor base. The lender issued a $500 million AT1 sukuk in October 2024 at a 5.25 per cent profit rate, a transaction that was presented at the time as one of the tighter emerging-market AT1 pricings since global monetary tightening began. It also raised $1 billion from a sustainability-linked sukuk in November 2025, expanding its funding profile beyond conventional capital and senior Islamic instruments.

The latest AT1 sale indicates that investors remain willing to absorb subordinated Gulf bank paper when issuer fundamentals are clear and pricing offers a premium over senior benchmarks. The orderbook, while not exceptionally large by past Gulf standards, was sufficient to support a modest tightening from initial guidance and showed continuing interest in dollar-denominated Islamic instruments from established issuers.

AT1 sukuk form part of banks’ Basel III capital toolkits and are intended to absorb losses under defined conditions. They are perpetual instruments but normally carry call dates, giving issuers flexibility to redeem them after a specified period if regulatory and market conditions permit. The non-call six-year structure gives DIB longer capital recognition while offering investors a defined first call point for pricing purposes.

The pricing also reflects a shift from the ultra-low-yield environment that shaped Gulf debt markets before the global rate cycle turned. Dollar sukuk issued by top-tier regional banks now carry materially higher coupons than comparable transactions completed during 2020 and 2021, when abundant liquidity and low US Treasury yields allowed issuers to print at historically tight levels. Current market conditions have made all-in funding more expensive, but they have also attracted income-focused accounts seeking secure exposure to the Gulf’s banking sector.

DIB’s financial profile has remained supported by its large domestic franchise, diversified customer base and strong position in Islamic retail, corporate and wholesale banking. The bank reported total assets of about AED420 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026 and quarterly revenue of AED3.5 billion, helped by financing growth and disciplined cost control. Its status as a domestically systemically important bank adds another layer of investor confidence, although AT1 holders remain exposed to contractual loss-absorption risks typical of the asset class.