Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (ASBB) has announced that the BMI Offshore Bank Seychelles (BMIO) has been successfully handed over to shareholders after being placed under administration by the Central Bank of Seychelles in November 2014.

Following CBS handover, BMIO is resuming regular operations after being acquired by a new joint venture between ASBB and Seychelles Pension Fund (SPF).

At the behest of shareholders, CBS has approved the rebranding of the entity as Al Salam Bank-Seychelles (ASBS). Furthermore, the ASBS shareholders and board has approved the appointment of Hussein Mohammed Al Meeza as the new chairman of the bank.

ASBB is a leading full serviced commercial bank offering Shari’a-compliant products headquartered in Bahrain. It was established in 2006 with a paid up capital of $318 million.

ASBB’s board comprises highly qualified and internationally experienced professionals with proven expertise in key areas of banking, finance, treasury, investments and related fields.

ASBB witnessed substantial asset growth having completed two business combinations in a space of five years, first with Bahraini Saudi Bank in 2009 and the second with BMI Bank in 2014.

As of December 31, 2015, the total assets of ASBB stood at $4.4 billion with shareholders’ equity of $844 million.

Supported by two well established financial institutions, namely ASBB and SPF, ASBS is planning to launch a unique Shari’a-compliant full-service commercial banking by offering world class financial solutions.

ASBS will aim at utilizing its strong foundations by introducing innovation and the latest technologies to Seychelles’ banking sector.
The bank will initially commence its operation as an offshore financial institution later expand by introducing domestic banking services with the aim of targeting various market segments and supporting local and regional SMEs and corporates, said the Bahraini bank in its statement.

ASBS will nurture the needs of Seychelles’ domestic market aimed to spur development and growth in the local economy by playing a key role in various sectors of the economy such as the education, fishing, health, and housing industries amongst others, it stated.

Using Seychelles as the launching pad to other regional markets, ASBS will aim to expand by penetrating the banking sector of neighboring countries and create a bridge between the GCC and the Indian Ocean Rim countries, it added.-TradeArabia News Service