Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, one of the leading Islamic banks in the region, said it has opened its second branch at the Bahrain City Center shopping mall as part of its strategy to extend its high-standard and unique services to clients and customers.

The first of its kind in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the branch houses a business centre that is equipped with the most sophisticated and state-of-the-art computer appliances and systems, Nabeel Al Tattan, executive vice president and head of the Mena region, said.

In addition to the full commercial banking services which the branch is offering to customers, the branch also provides through its Business Centre full and free-of-charge clerical services to clients who use it during their visit to the branch.

Clients are able to browse through the bank's online banking module where they can view their account details and conduct a number of major transactions by using the 22-inch touch-screens.

"The aim is to offer our clients a one-of-a-kind experience and service," Al Tattan said, adding, "providing such a service emanates from one of our core values of being differentiated by providing unique and full-solution services to clients."

The concept behind the Business Centre within the branch is to make it a one-stop-shop that provides diversified services to clients with an exceptional banking environment that would make the experience as friendly and beneficial as possible, Al Tattan said.

"It is more of a Business Centre than a mere traditional bank branch."

Apart from one ATM installed at the branch, there will be three other ATM machines located at various hot points in the mall, Al Tattan said. "Moreover, we plan to install a number of ATM machines at strategic locations in various parts of the country's five governorates."

On the other hand, Al Tattan pointed out that the bank has achieved numerous milestones along its strategic plan since inception.

"Al Salam Bank-Bahrain has introduced a number of innovative Shari'a-compliant products such as Al Salam Wakala Deposit and the recently launched charge chip-enabled cards as well as introducing the Online Banking service with its unique utilisation."

He said that the bank will continue to be creative while introducing innovative products in order to fulfill the needs of the shareholders, investors and clients and meet their expectations for better and enhanced services, which would cover all aspects of investment and banking.

"Our vision towards becoming a leading force in the Islamic financial services industry stems from our clients' trust and confidence which we were able to maintain since we started operation.

"We build on that trust along with the stability of the financial system which is wisely and prudently controlled and supervised by the strong and well-established regulatory body, the Central Bank of Bahrain."

"Our stable position within the financial sector is a driving force that encourages us to move forward and strengthen our status and presence within the local community and regionally, heading for a global stature," Al Tattan said.

"To this end we plan to open gradually five branches in total at selected hot spots within the Kingdom of Bahrain," Al Tattan added.

"Al Salam Bank-Bahrain is proud to be in a position where it sustains a competitive client base, liquidity and asset quality," Al Tattan said.

The new branch is located at the second floor of the Bahrain City Centre. - TradeArabia News Service