A retired Bahraini, Abdulrahman Al Thawadi, has received $150,000 in prize money “at just the right time” when he became the first winner of Thimaar Grand Prize offered by Ithmaar Bank.

Al Thawadi who has been a Thimaar customer since June this year, said he had retired a few months ago after almost a 40-year career with Bapco, and that the prize money would help him meet his family’s long-term needs while enjoying a more secure, comfortable retirement.

“The money couldn’t have come at a better time either,” said Thawadi, a father of four. “My children are all in university, and I was planning to build them apartments to secure their future housing requirements. The Thimaar prize money, together with my retirement package, will allow me to do so and I can now look forward to my retirement,” he said.

Ithmaar Bank CEO and member of the board, Mohammed Bucheerei and executive general manager support group, Juma Abull, presented Al Thawadi with his prize at a brief ceremony, a statement from the bank said.

The Bahraini won the top prize at a multiple draw ceremony that was held at the bank’s headquarters in Seef. Another 77 Thimaar customers also won $200,000, bringing the total to $350,000, making it the largest prize distribution since the bank, which is an Islamic retail-focused bank, launched its Thimaar Account, a best-in-class prize based savings account, in September last year.

The draw ceremony, which was held under the supervision of the bank’s internal auditors, as well as the Ministry of Commerce, industry representatives and external auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers, was attended by the bank general manager retail banking, Ahmed Abdul Rahim, assistant general manager retail banking, Mohammed Janahi and other bank representatives.

In the quarterly draw, Isa Al Doseri won the $50,000 top prize while Mohammed Bader and Imran A Hakeem each won $15,000. A total of 25 other Thimaar Account holders each won $2,000.

In the monthly draw, Saud Al Khan won the top $10,000 prize. Mohamed Khalifa, Ashwaq Al Zayani and Younis Ahmed each won $5,000 and 50 other Thimaar account holders each won $1,000, the bank said.

The draw ceremony marked Thimaar’s first anniversary, and ushered in a new, even more exciting phase for the prize-based saving account.

The bank, which is expected to shortly announce details of its updated Thimaar offering, has pledged to ensure it continues to offer best-in-class incentives.

“Ithmaar is one of our newer, more exciting retail banking products – but it’s just a part of our efforts to play a real and meaningful role in the lives of our customers,” said Bucheerei.

Earlier this year, Bucheerei had emphasised the bank’s determination to push ahead, with full force, with the implementation of an aggressive business expansion programme that has already seen the bank expanding its network, improving its delivery channels and introducing new, customer-focused products and services.

“This expansion programme is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to the Bahrain and to the continuous development of its Islamic financial services industry,” said Bucheerei. “It is a long-term commitment and, having played a pioneering role in the establishment of Islamic banking in the Kingdom, we continue to take it very seriously,” he said.

Ithmaar Bank has already commissioned two new ATMs at offsite locations across Bahrain this year, and is set to formally commission four more, the bank said.

It has also inaugurated two new full-service branches, in Manama Souq and Sanad, and is scheduled to open three others in Budiya Road, Hamala and Busaiteen this year, to bring the total number of branches and ATMs to 16 and 32 respectively, it said. – TradeArabia News Service