First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, has confirmed plans to seek a banking licence in South Africa, potentially extending its African footprint after opening a representative office in Nigeria earlier this year.

FAB’s move would bring a major Gulf lender into Africa’s largest and most sophisticated banking market at a time when several European banks are scaling back or exiting the country.

According to Business Day South Africa, FAB disclosed its intentions during a trademark dispute with FirstRand, South Africa’s largest banking group by market value. The Abu Dhabi-based lender successfully defended its trademark application before South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal after FirstRand argued that the FAB name could infringe the trademark of its flagship retail bank, FNB.

The court’s majority judgment, handed down on Tuesday, said there was no reason to doubt that FAB would comply with all legal requirements to operate in

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