It obtained an offshore banking unit licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency on 7 April 1980, and began operations in the same month.

Its network spreads across 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, the Americas and Asia.

By April 1981, US$750 million had been fully paid by Bank ABC's original three shareholders: the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait (whose shares have since been transferred to the Kuwait Investment Authority), the Libyan Secretariat of Treasury (whose shares were later transferred to the Central Bank of Libya) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

In December 2010, the Central Bank of Libya acquired the 17.72% shareholding of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in ABC, increasing its stake to 59.37%.

The change to a single, unifying global brand name and corporate identity took effect on 15 June 2015 across the Bank's global network spanning 18 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, the Americas and Asia (with the exception of its subsidiary in Brazil, which will keep its own identity as Banco ABC Brasil).