National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the largest bank in the emirate by assets, is seeking shareholder approval to double the size of its debt programme.

The lender said its board will present the proposal to increase the size of its euro medium term note programme to $15bn from current $7.5bn at the shareholders general assembly on 28 February, it said in a statement to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

NBAD, which is in the process of being acquired by Abu Dhabi rival, First Gulf Bank (FGB), did not elaborate the reasons behind proposed increase in the debt programme.

NBAD has reported 28 per increase in its fourth-quarter 2016 net profit to AED1.32bn ($360m), up from AED1.04bn as the amount allocated to cover non-performing loans decreased by 28.7 per cent to AED311m in the last three months of the year. NBAD’s full-year profit however, saw a modest 1 per cent increase. It outshone FGB’s performance for the 12-month, which reported a flat bottomline at AED6.01bn.

The merger of the two biggest banks in the emirate could cost more than 2,000 jobs, MEED reported in the first week of February.