Seven weeks after Shuaa Captial settled a bond dispute with Dubai Banking Group, the UAE's biggest investment bank Chief Executive Officer Iyad Duwaji has submitted his resignation.

Wednesday, Dubai-based Shuaa said in an e-mailed statement that it was for some personal reasons that Duwaji resigned, after more than a decade at the helm of affairs. But he will stay as CEO until and unless a successor is selected and will also continue to be a board member.

In the month of June, with the aim of resolving a dispute over a Dh1.5 billion convertible bond issue, Shuaa decided to give a 48.4% stake to Dubai Banking Group.

In the month of May, Shuaa made Chief Financial Officer Michael Burgess redundant.

The sociable chief executive said that in the third quarter, he expects the investment bank to be profitable and that he plans to arrange a private equity firm to tap Gulf markets.

Duwaji said: "Shuaa is now well positioned for its next phase of growth, and I now look forward to returning to the buy-side and setting up an independent private equity platform."

In the second quarter, Shuaa returned to profit, subsequent to three quarters of losses, as gains on investments helped increase net income 37 % to Dh91.7 million.