Emirates Islamic CEO resigns

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.

Neither Emirates Islamic or ENBD were immediately available for comment.

Emirates Islamic Bank posted a first quarter loss of Dh20 million last month, compared with net profits of Dh66.6m the year before.

The bank had been touted as a possible candidate to buy  Dubai Bank.

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.