Dubai Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB), two Islamic banking entities owned by Emirates NBD, are in negotiations over an operational merger with the details to be finalised soon, Gulf News has reported, citing sources close to the talks. It is not clear if Dubai Bank will be fully merged with EIB and its brand and banking licence will cease to exist after the merger. "A full integration of the operations of these two Islamic banking entities is being considered. While the retail banking business of Dubai Bank is likely to be merged with the EIB's retail business, the corporate banking business is likely to be kept as a separate division under the EIB umbrella," one source was quoted as saying.