Al Salam Bank Bahrain (ASBB) and BMI Bank have signed a MoU with Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat.

As part of the MoU, the banks have collectively agreed to pool expertise, technologies and resources and work together across a range of Islamic banking activities including Islamic syndications, particularly those issued in Oman, treasury transactions, liquidity management products and Islamic trade finance transactions.

The signing ceremony, held at BMI Bank headquarters, was attended by BMI Bank chief executive Jamal Al Hazeem, ASBB chief executive Yousif Taqi along with Meethaq Islamic Banking Group general manager Sulaiman Al Harthy and head of Islamic banking Muhammad Nadeem Aslam.

Commenting on the deal, Al Hazeem said: "Since its inception last year, Meethaq has emerged as a leading Islamic Banking service provider in Oman and has enhanced its reputation within the region through its investments in staff, systems and controls along with the timely launch of several world-class Sharia-compliant products and services."

"Our organisations share mutual principles, values and select expertise. Therefore, we are pleased to sign this MoU and look forward to enhancing this partnership in the coming years," he noted.

Al Harthy said the entities would work together to offer various Islamic finance products covering treasury, trade finance and capital market in Oman.

"Meethaq is working to strengthen its operations in the Sultanate, which is witnessing substantial growth in Islamic banking industry and we consider our partnership with Al Salam Bank Bahrain and BMI Bank a great advantage to maximise favourable opportunities and thereby expand our coverage," he added.-TradeArabia News Service