Bahrain has scored a first in the GCC by producing a detailed analysis of its domestic banking sector over the five-year period ending in 2011.

The 260-page Bahrain Banks Annual Review 2012 launched today (April 14), which looks in close detail at Bahrain’s 42 registered banks, is a joint venture publication by the Centre for Research at Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) and the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB).

Work is already underway to produce an updated edition of the review to include banks’ results for 2012.  The Bahrain Banks Annual Review will be produced annually.

Garry Muriwai, BIBF director, said: “A key area of cross-collaboration is in the development and dissemination of information. The combination of the BIBF’s Centre for Research in regards to business research development and BAB’s banking sector policy and profile support, mean that the preparation and delivery of a consolidated review of Bahrain’s banks is seen as a critical component of transparency of the Kingdom’s banking performance.”

BAB CEO, Robert Ainey, said: “The Bahrain Banks Annual Review 2012 is a really valuable tool for anyone who follows the banking and financial sector in Bahrain and the region as a whole. Its publication encourages research and analysis and this, in turn, should promote transparency and product development, which will ultimately benefit all banks and their customers.”

The Bahrain Banks Annual Review 2012 offers a vital snapshot of Bahrain’s banking sector during a time of great volatility and the key message is positive, showing that domestic banks’ assets recovered from the low of BD131.594 billion ($346.5 billion) recorded in 2009 to post total assets of BD139.973 billion in 2011.

As the first major project of collaboration between BAB and the BIBF Centre for Research, this is an important engagement on the part of the Centre as it is trying to build collaborative networks to foster research culture and capacity in Bahrain.

The real value of the huge research that has gone into the making of this first edition of the Bahrain Banks Annual Review will be shown as each new edition is updated. The very latest data from banks will be analysed and trends will be tracked and highlighted.

Work has already started on processing banks’ results for 2012 which have just become available to the project’s researchers and a second edition will be published in the autumn. – TradeArabia News Service