Airbus signed Friday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in aircraft financing and leasing with Abu Dhabi National Leasing Company (ADNL), the wholly owned lease finance arm of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Abu Dhabi’s largest bank.

The MoU was signed by Harald Wilhelm, Chief Financial Officer, Airbus & EADS, Nigel Taylor, SVP Customer, Project and Structured Finance, Airbus & EADS, Yousef Abdulla Yousef, Managing Director, ADNL and Mark Yassin, Senior General Manager of Global Banking at NBAD in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

ADNL and Airbus will share competence and experience to cooperate on leasing projects, financing projects and management activities, such as structuring operating and finance lease transactions, pre-delivery payment financing for Airbus aircraft and delivery financing of new and used Airbus aircraft.

Under the MoU, ADNL will facilitate and provide aircraft delivery financing solutions to airlines in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region for the acquisition of aircraft ordered from Airbus. ADNL will in addition provide financing support by way of sale and leaseback transactions with its airline customers for Airbus aircraft.

“We understand the power of connectivity to drive the economy. We believe that the airlines in the UAE have been the catalyst for transforming and expanding the air transportation to and from the UAE. The aviation industry contributes more than AED (United Arab Emirates Dirhams) 145 billion to the UAE economy, justifying the region’s huge investments in airports and airline networks,” said Yousef Abdulla Yousef, Managing Director of ADNL.”

“ADNL puts its hands together with Airbus to increase cooperation between the two organizations and drive forward aviation initiatives to make Abu Dhabi a regional hub for the aviation business,” he added.

"In the current economic environment, investment in aircraft remains a very attractive proposition and we are pleased to expand our relationship with new players such as NBAD and ADNL. Our modern portfolio of Airbus aircraft is delivering an excellent return on investment and outstanding value for money to our customers”, said Harald Wilhelm, CFO, Airbus & EADS.