The electronic edition of the winter 2011 'The Bahrain Banker' magazine is now available to read on the website of the Bahrain Association of Banks.

The electronic edition can be accessed at ww.banksbahrain.org/Winter2011/index.html.

JP Morgan celebrates 40 years in Bahrain this year. In recognition of the important role that JP Morgan and its legacy bank Chase Manhattan have played in boosting Bahrain's role as a leading investment banking hub in the region, the magazine features the bank's senior country officer Ali Moosa, in its cover interview.

The publication also focuses on the savings and pensions sector and the Sharia-compliant asset management industry in Bahrain.

In particular, it considers the prospects for Takaud, a long-term savings and pensions company set up by Kuwait's Kipco and UGB Bahrain, which aims to encourage Bahrainis to save for retirement.

In a series of features, the publication looks at the growth of the Sharia-compliant funds industry, which is expected to grow by at least 10 per cent for the next decade.

These include interviews with NCB Capital managing director and head of asset management Hamed Mohammed Fayez, the GCC region's leading asset manager, and an article by LGT Bank of Liechtenstein's David Gibson-Moore about Sharia-compliant investment strategies at family offices.

The publication also features an interview with Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions chief executive R Lakshmanan about the challenges of providing cutting edge mortgage finance products for Bahrainis.

Elaf Bank head of Sharia-compliance Anwar Soubra exposes some of the shortcomings in the global financial system and how Islamic finance is in a strong position to become a mainstream banking option in the Middle East and beyond.

The magazine looks at a new approach to evaluating customer service from Standard Chartered Bank as well as all latest data and statistics on Bahrain.-TradeArabia News Service