Bahrain Islamic Bank is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

based in

Manama Manama ( ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and List of cities in Bahrain, largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 297,502 as of 2012. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is ...

, Bahrain, founded on 7 March 1979, and started operating from the beginning of the Hijri Year 1400 (2nd of

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

) which was the 22 November 1979. It is the first

Islamic bank Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

in the

Kingdom of Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, works under supervision of the

Central Bank of Bahrain The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is the central bank of Bahrain. It is a public corporate entity that was established by the ''Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law 2006.'' on 6 September 2006. ''Decree No. 64 of 2006 with res ...

and is listed on the

Bahrain Stock Exchange The Bahrain Bourse, also called the Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE), is the stock exchange of Bahrain. As at 2017, 42 companies were listed on the exchange. The exchange operates from Sunday to Thursday. Three indices track the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) ...

History

In January 2016, the

Moody's Investors Service Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

confirmed its ratings and upgraded the standalone baseline credit assessment (BCA) to b3 from caa1. In 2017, as part of a five-year

growth plan Growth planning is a strategic business activity that enables business owners to plan and track organic growth in their revenue. It allows businesses to allocate their limited resources toward a centered effort to adapt to changes in the industry d ...

, the bank outlined strategies to boost its performance, one of which involved selling around 82 million dinars (£166 million) worth of unproductive assets, including land and shares. During the initial six months, the bank successfully sold assets worth 14 million dinars. By prioritizing its core

lending In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...

business and implementing these asset sales, the bank aimed to streamline operations and foster additional growth. In 2019, the

National Bank of Bahrain The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) was established in 1957 as the first locally owned bank and is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as a conventional retail bank. Today, the Group's operations span across the Kingdom of Bahrain, the ...

, which held a stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank, put forward an offer to

acquire ''Acquire'' is a board game published by 3M in 1964 that involves multi-player mergers and acquisitions. It was one of the most popular games in the 3M Bookshelf games series published in the 1960s, and the only one still published in the Uni ...

its remaining

shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...

. The proposed agreement depended on the bank obtaining a minimum 40.94 percent stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank through either

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-i ...

or a share exchange. The agreed-upon valuation for Bahrain Islamic Bank amounted to 124 million

dinars The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

($329 million). The offer aligned with the trend of mergers in the Middle East's financial sector, driven by reduced government and consumer spending due to weakened

oil prices The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPE ...

, impacting

profit margin Profit margin is a financial ratio that measures the percentage of profit earned by a company in relation to its revenue. Expressed as a percentage, it indicates how much profit the company makes for every dollar of revenue generated. Profit margi ...

s. In November, the bank signed a cooperation agreement with telecom services group STC Bahrain, aiming to implement a set of initiatives for

small and medium-sized enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organiza ...

. In December, the bank signed an agreement with Delmon Gate to offer real estate financing options and benefits for the Bushra housing project located in Alsayah.

Products

Islamic Banking AI Platform

In 2023, the bank announced plans to create the first AI platform for

Islamic Banking Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

Fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

s. The platform will incorporate Fatwas issued by the Sharia Supervisory Board, utilizing over 1,800 Fatawa and Sharia decisions.

References

{{Bahrain All Share Index Banks of Bahrain Banks established in 1979 1979 establishments in Bahrain Companies based in Manama

History

Products

Islamic Banking AI Platform

See also

References