Lombard loans on the ADX.
Private, securities-backed credit against Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed shares — pledged, not sold.
A Lombard loan against ADX-listed shares is credit secured by a pledge of equity listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The holder pledges the shares, draws cash against a fraction of their market value, retains ownership and dividends subject to structuring, and recovers the position on repayment. In plainer terms it is a share-backed loan: a loan against shares, not a disposal of them.
- Facilities are arranged against equity listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Abu Dhabi.
- The pledge preserves ownership, dividends, and the upside for the holder.
- Loan-to-value is set per line; funded in AED or cross-currency.
- Structured under the CMA regime, with disclosure at the levels the listing exchange sets.
The venue
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange is the principal Abu Dhabi equity venue, increasingly weighted by major sovereign-affiliated listings (ADNOC subsidiaries) and a deepening listings pipeline. Foreign ownership rules have liberalised materially since 2020.
Regulator and disclosure
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange operates under the Capital Market Authority (CMA). Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025, Art. 33(4): ADX sets the rules on disclosure of ownership percentages in its listed instruments, and earlier Securities and Commodities Authority resolutions stay in effect where consistent until replaced (Art. 82).
A pledge over a substantial line is arranged with that reporting regime in view, so that the facility is both discreet and compliant, and so that positions near a control or takeover threshold are not disturbed.
For who must report a pledge, and what an enforcement would make public, in each market the firm covers, see the comparison of share pledge disclosure rules.
Structuring a facility here
Lombard facilities against ADX-listed shares are typically arranged for a tenor of twelve to thirty-six months, funded in AED or another currency on a cross-currency basis, with the collateral held by a qualified custodian under bankruptcy-remote arrangements. Non-recourse, limited-recourse, and full-recourse structures are available; the choice interacts with the loan-to-value and the spread. Unlike a stock loan in the securities-lending sense, title does not pass: the line stays registered to the holder for the life of the facility.
| Exchange | Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) |
|---|---|
| City · Country | Abu Dhabi · United Arab Emirates |
| Regulator | Capital Market Authority (CMA) |
| Disclosure | Substantial holdings at the levels the listing exchange sets |
| Principal indices | FTSE ADX 15, ADX General Index |
| Segments | Main Market; Second Market; Growth Market |
| Currency · Tenor | AED · 12–36 months |
| Recourse | Non-recourse / limited-recourse / full-recourse |
The United Arab Emirates market as a whole
The United Arab Emirates country overview gathers every United Arab Emirates listing venue in one place: the national disclosure regime, the wider securities-backed lending picture, and the common ground behind any loan against shares listed in the United Arab Emirates.
- Lombard loans in the United Arab Emirates — the country overview: every listing venue, the national disclosure regime, currency, and how a facility is arranged.
- Lombard loans against DFM-listed shares — Dubai Financial Market, Dubai, the other principal United Arab Emirates venue.
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Liquidity and the index
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange is tracked by the FTSE ADX 15 and the broader ADX General Index, and its capitalisation is increasingly weighted by major sovereign-affiliated listings, notably ADNOC subsidiaries. Those large, index-heavy names carry the bulk of day-to-day liquidity, so for a substantial line the depth of the specific issuer — and its free float once any strategic holding is set aside — is the key read when sizing a pledge. Smaller lines on the Second and Growth markets are assessed more selectively. Free float, more than headline turnover, tends to frame a Lombard loan here.
Structuring notes
Foreign ownership is the structuring feature to weigh on ADX: issuer-level caps, though materially liberalised since 2020, still govern how much of a line a non-resident client may hold and pledge, so eligibility is confirmed name by name.
Settlement runs through the Abu Dhabi infrastructure, with the pledged shares held by a qualified custodian so ownership stays with the client. The ownership-disclosure rules that apply to ADX listings under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 are respected, and the Lombard credit can be funded in AED or in USD on a cross-currency basis.