Sharia role for Bahraini Saudi

Manama, March 29, 2010

Bahraini Saudi Bank has rebranded itself as Bahraini Saudi as part of its transition to a fully Sharia-compliant Islamic bank.

The move comes as a result of Al Salam Bank acquiring 90.31 per cent of its equity last year in a two-for-one share swap deal.

Bahraini Saudi chairman Dr Anwar Khalifa Al Sada expressed his optimism for the bank's future outlook and thanked the Central Bank of Bahrain and all stakeholders for their continued support to the bank's activities.

'We are converting to an Islamic bank offering new products and services and this should be completed over the next few months,' he said.

'We will be focusing in Bahrain on small- to medium-sized businesses, retail customers and personal finance.'

He added that the bank would be upgrading some of its operations, which are covered by eight branches in the kingdom.

'The bank has aligned its strategy with Al Salam Bank, and over the coming period, it will develop and upgrade many of the services and products it provides to its clients, as well as expand its branch and ATM network throughout the kingdom,' said acting chief executive officer Ahmed Shaikh.

'The bank is currently focusing on working with Al Salam Bank to maximise benefits of available opportunities in order to achieve the highest levels of services and ensure client satisfaction.'

'The re-branding exercise forms part of the process the bank intends to implement over the coming months to consolidate the bank's status as a modern and innovative banking destination providing diverse products and services.'

He also emphasised that the bank is committed to transforming its banking operations in compliance with Sharia principles.-TradeArabia News Service

Tags: Bahraini Saudi Bank | investment | Sharia-compliant | finance | Islamic | Al Salam Bank |