First Abu Dhabi Bank has appointed Vitaly Vaganov as Managing Director and Co-Head of M&A Advisory, in a hire that points the UAE's largest lender squarely at energy and natural resources dealmaking.
Vaganov announced the move himself on LinkedIn. He joins FAB after over 16 years at Citigroup, where he latterly worked in the London-based EMEA Energy Investment Banking team as Senior Director, most recently on advisory mandates across the sector.
In his new role he will focus on "the origination and execution of M&A transactions across the Energy and Natural Resources sectors, drawing on [his] experience advising clients across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and other emerging markets."
The appointment lands at a point when the regional advisory market has split in two. PwC's TransAct Middle East mid-year report recorded 272 transactions across the region in the first half of 2026, down roughly 8% year on year, with financial services deals falling from 75 to 53.
Energy, utilities and resources moved the other way, rising to 22 transactions from 15 a year earlier. Equity capital markets have been thinner still: Gulf IPO proceeds have sat below USD 1.1bn so far this year, and regional bankers have been redeploying towards Egypt, Turkey and India to sustain fee income.
