Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. (closed) (Ithmaar Bank), a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, announced today (ed note: 30/04/17) that it is continuing operations as an Islamic retail bank that is licenced and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as part of the new organisation structure that was successfully completed in January 2017.
The announcement, by the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Abdul Rahim, follows a CBB Resolution published in the Official Gazette last Thursday (ed note: 27/04/17) regarding the termination of the Islamic retail banking licence of the former Ithmaar Bank B.S.C as part of the planned reorganisation and the process of completing the legal procedures of the reorganisation.
“I am pleased to report that, following the successful reorganisation that was competed with the start of the current year, we are continuing to focus on our core retail banking business through Ithmaar Bank B.S.C (closed) licensed by the CBB,” said Abdul Rahim. “This, we believe, allows us to better focus on improving our products and services while growing closer to our customers,” he said.
The reorganisation, which was presented by the Ithmaar Bank Board of Directors and approved by shareholders in March 2016, involved the conversion of the commercial registration of Ithmaar Bank B.S.C into Ithmaar Holding B.S.C. (Ithmaar Holding). Ithmaar Holding is licensed and regulated by the CBB and listed on the Bahrain Bourse and Boursa Kuwait. Following the conversion, Ithmaar Holding retains 100 percent ownership of all assets formerly owned by Ithmaar Bank through two wholly-owned subsidiaries, the first being Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. (closed) with an Islamic retail bank CBB license which holds the core retail banking business, and IB Capital B.S.C. (closed) (IB Capital), an investment subsidiary, which holds investments and other non-core assets. The two subsidiaries are licensed and regulated by the CBB.