The German arm of Arab Banking Corporation (ABC) is searching for a new general manager following the resignation of Salem Mohamed Mana. The move comes at a time when the Frankfurt-based Arab Banking Corporation- Daus & Company has been working to develop new business to compensate for a decline in trade between Germany and Libya.

No reason was given for Mana's October departure. 'He resigned from service after 10 years and was not under pressure from the bank,' ABC-Daus' German general manager Jens-Ove Stier said in a 29 November interview with MEED. Stier says that under German law the bank must find a replacement for Mana, who is a Libyan citizen.

ABC-Daus, the Madrid-based Banco Atlantico and other European arms are to become subsidiaries of the UK-based ABC International Bank (ABCIB), according to the London daily Asharq al-Awsat. This would represent further consolidation of the ABC group's operations as the bank's Paris branch was incorporated into ABCIB in 1991. ABCIB is also planning to expand its treasury department, banking sources say.

However, Stier said: 'There could be ideas for integration, but if that has been decided you know more than I do.'

ABC-Daus has focused on financing Arab trade with the German-speaking world, with an increasing concentration on short-term trade finance. A significant proportion of this has been with Libya.

The UN embargo against Libya has affected business in 1994, Stier says, 'Our business has been reduced due to sanctions - the business opportunities are less.'

The bank's turnover will be lower in 1994 than in 1993, but it has sought to compensate by increasing its treasury operations and trade finance business in the Gulf and other Arab states. Stier points to increased activity in operations guaranteed by German export credit insurers Hermes and AKA Ausfuhrkredit Gesellschaft in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Jordan.

ABC-Daus reported assets of DM 978.4 million ($627 million) at end-1993, down from DM 1,022 million ($655 million) in 1992. Net earnings rose to DM 738,000 ($473,000) in 1993 from DM 454,000 ($291,000).