Bahrain's financial sector's liquidity, capital flow and profit remained unaffected by unrest in the first quarter of the year, according to a Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) statement issued after a meeting of its board.

Chairman Qassim Mohammed Fakhro presided over the meeting, which discussed the performance of banks, insurance companies and investment trends in the first three months.

It credited retail banks for extending a lifeline to small and medium businesses and rescheduling their financial commitments in light of disruption in February and March.

The reports prepared by the central bank for the development of the financial sector during the last period were also discussed.

It also discussed a CBB report on the first quarterly performance of the insurance sector, expressing satisfaction at 'steadily improving' results posted by Bahrain-based insurance firms.

The board also discussed the report of the audit committee regarding the progress of the CBB's internal audit programme.

It also reviewed management reports on operational performance of the CBB and expressed interest to incorporate further training programmes for the staff. – TradeArabia News Service