Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) today launched its new unified corporate identity.

The new logo was unveiled by Adnan Ahmed Yousif, president and chief executive, at a press conference in the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The group has a wide geographical presence with banking units and representative offices in 12 countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 283 branches.

The logo symbolises partnership and participation, said group chairman Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel in a message.

“With a positioning line of `Your Partner Bank’, the group aims to signify a mutually beneficial partnership that allows both the customers and Al Baraka to achieve our goals,” he said.

The defining elements of the new logo are the Al Baraka name with a symbol which has been adopted from Arabic writing forms. This, along with the vibrant colours and a unique typeface make the logo prominent, said Yousif.

“Al Baraka Banking Group is considered to be one of the pioneering Islamic banks in the world and carries a prestigious name in different markets that it operates in. It is at a stage when it is witnessing a significant growth and expansion whereby it has positioned itself as a major international bank,” he said.

“What could be more appropriate at this juncture than for us to rebrand ourselves to accentuate our strengths and share our success with our customers who are our partners,” he said.

The new unified corporate identity has successfully united the whole group, he said. “We expect that every staff member of the Al Baraka Group will be able to identify with a common ethos and set of business and personal goals by simply identifying with what the group stands for – Partnership. Our customers will be able to come together with us in our quest towards working for the common good, cementing relationships, all the while conducting business in an ethical manner and in compliance with the rules of the Shari’a,” he said.

Al Baraka Banking Group offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Shari’a. The authorised capital of ABG is $1.5 billion, while the total equity amounts to about $1.52 billion.

ABG’s banking units are: Jordan Islamic Bank (Jordan), Al Baraka Islamic Bank (Bahrain), Al Baraka Islamic Bank (Pakistan), Banque Al Baraka D’Algrie (Algeria), Al Baraka Bank Sudan (Sudan), Al Baraka Bank Limited (South Africa), Al Baraka Bank Lebonon (Lebanon), Bank Et-Tamweel Al-Tunisi Al Saudi (Tunisia), The Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank (Egypt), Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank (Turkey), Al Baraka Bank Syria (under formation), and an ABG representative office in Indonesia. – TradeArabia News Service