IslamicFinance.de

An Ordinary Shareholder Assembly of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) was held on Sunday 7th July 2013 with the objective of electing a new Board. The result was the election of four new members to the Board in addition to the five members who are appointed. The following four members are the ones who were successful in the elections: Talal Ali Abdulla Al-Zain, Khalil Ebrahim Nooruddin Nooruddin, Ebrahim Hussein Ebrahim Abdul-Rahman, Othman I. N. Al-Askar. Accordingly, the Board of Directors constitution now is complete with a total number of nine as follows: Mr. Abdul Razak Abdulla Hassan Al Qassim (Chairman), Brig. Khalid Mohammed Al Mannai (Vice Chairman), Mr. Talal Ali Abdulla Al Zain, Mr. Khalil Ebrahim Nooruddin, Mr. Mohammed Al Zarrouq Rajab, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdulla Ali, Mrs. Fatima Abdulla Budhaish, Mr. Ebrahim Hussain Ebrahim Abdul Rahman, Mr. Osman Ebrahim Naser Al Askar.

The three Bahraini Islamic investment Banks Capivest, Elaf Bank and Capital Management House have agreed to merge in order to better compete in a fragmented market. The combination will create a bank with assets of $400 million which should be able to win larger projects while benefiting from a more diverse balance sheet. Kuwait Finance House advised the lenders on the merger. The deal must still be approved by Bahrain's central bank and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The two entities signed an MoU on the potential merger and a steering committee of senior representatives from both parties has been formed. Subsequently, a service provider was appointed to undertake valuation of both entities. KHCB has also appointed an advisor to assist it. Valuations and preliminary due diligence is expected to be completed within two months.

Mr. Yousef Al Mahmeed, Chairman of Hamad Town Charity Fund thanked Khaleeji Commercial Bank and its chairman Dr. Fuad Al Omar for its contribution towards sponsoring a number of needy families in association with the Charity Fund. Khaleeji Commercial Bank has agreed to use part of its charity fund to support a number of families sponsored by Hamad Town Charity Fund to ensure the support goes directly to the needy families. Mr. Yousef thanked the Bank for its initiative and continuous support for programs organized by Hamad Town Charity Fund and other general initiatives taken for similar projects. The Charity Fund will facilitate the process of helping those selected families by providing the Bank with their names, details and identified needs.

Moody's Investors Service said it has placed four Bahraini banks - National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), BBK, BMI Bank and Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB) - on review for possible downgrade of its deposit, issuer and senior debt ratings. As part of the same rating action, Moody's has also placed on review for downgrade the standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) of BIsB. Moody's decision comes following the potential weakening in the sovereign's capacity to provide support to the banks, as signaled by the agency's decision to place the Baa1 Bahraini government bond rating on review for possible downgrade. The sovereign review was prompted by the fiscal implications of Bahrain's high and rising break-even oil price; the outlook for lower trend economic growth in the country over the medium term and the impact of a low-growth, high government expenditure and weaker oil price scenario on Bahrain's long-term debt sustainability.

The Al Baraka 34th Symposium on Islamic Economics is scheduled to be held in Jeddah on July 17 and 18. The symposium will discuss methods of calculating zakat of equity and debt financing. It will cover fiqh and Islamic doctrinal researches submitted by scholars specialised in Islamic banking and finance, who will discuss issues related to investment including sukuk and fiqh, debt and participation contract. A number of scholars and economists will comment on these researches in open sessions - which will be attended by about a 1,000 interested people from various Islamic countries.

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), a Bahrain-based non-profit organisation, plans to expand beyond the Gulf, so that it can shape rules and practices in new markets as they grow. Addressing a major weakness in Islamic finance, the lack of well-trained professionals, CIBAFI plans to expand its training and certification programmes. The body also plans to hold forums in new markets for Islamic finance, including events in Morocco and Libya later this year. One of CIBAFI's key messages is that Islamic windows need to operate under clear rules to improve the perceptions of consumers. Therefore, Omar Hafiz, secretary-general of the body, said that for its long-term health, the industry should focus as much on improving the regulatory environment as increasing its size.

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), a non-profit organisation, has traditionally focused on neighbouring countries, which form a core market for the industry. The Bahrain-based association now plans to expand beyond the Gulf, so that it can shape rules and practices in new markets as they grow. Addressing the lack of well-trained professionals in Islamic finance, CIBAFI plans to expand its training and certification programmes. The body also plans to hold forums in new markets for Islamic finance, including events in Morocco and Libya later this year. One of CIBAFI's key messages is that Islamic windows need to operate under clear rules to improve the perceptions of consumers. CIBAFI has 114 member institutions, including Egypt's Faisal Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group.

The Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has appointed Abdul Razaq Al-Qassim as new board chairman. Mr. Al-Qassim will take over from incumbent Khalid Al-Bassem, who opted to quit after holding the position for eight years. The appointment was on the sidelines of a BisB board meeting which finalized the sale of shares of Kuwaiti Investment House Holding Co. (51% of BisB shares) to National Bank of Bank (25.8%) and the General Organisation for Social Insurance (25.8%). The bank has also decided to convene a regular general assembly on July 7 to elect a new board following the ownership overhaul.

A U.S. judge Tuesday approved Arcapita Bank B.S.C.'s plan to gradually liquidate itself in a process that conforms with Islamic Shariah law, which generally prohibits borrowing money with interest. The Bahrain-based investment firm entered bankruptcy protection last year with a goal of restructuring itself but ended up with a plan to orderly liquidate its private-equity investments. The modified proposal solved several concerns from creditors, including creating a new entity that will retain the firm’s management, and setting a minimum valuation for the company’s remaining assets. Arcapita manages infrastructure, real-estate, private-equity and venture-capital investments that are compliant with Shariah.

Islamic banks Al Khair and Khaleeji have set up a committee to study the feasibility of a merger, with any agreement subject to due diligence and approvals by shareholders and the regulator. Bank Al Khair, a Bahrain-based investment bank, expects its potential merger with local player Khaleeji Commercial Bank to help provide it with retail banking exposure and more stable revenues. A merger would create an entity with paid-up capital of about $500 million and assets in the range of $600 million to $1 billion. An independent firm is now finalising valuations for the two businesses. A deal would probably involve both cash and an exchange of shares. Bank Al Khair posted a first-quarter loss of $2.8 million, while Khaleeji had a profit of BD302,000.

Arcapita Bank on Tuesday secured a New York bankruptcy judge’s approval of Chapter 11 reorganization plan, allowing it to exit bankruptcy, pay off its creditors and turn over its assets to a new entity that will manage and dispose of them over time. Sixteen months after it entered bankruptcy, the Bahraini investment bank sailed through a confirmation hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane with substantial support from creditors and shareholders.

Our client is an Islamic wholesale bank they are recognised as an industry leader in banking. They are currently looking for a talented Chief Risk Officer to join their team in Bahrain.

Duties and Responsibilities

You will be responsible for:

Ensuring compliance with local and internation regulations.

Manage the risk profile for the bank

Assessing, identifying, monitoring and reducing risks that could impact the business

Experience and Qualifications.

Minimum of 10 years' experience in a risk management position

[...]

Responsible for developing, launching and managing Retail products and services. Enhance the Bank’s profitability by maximizing profitability of existing products and services through continuous monitoring and ensuring that the products under management are positioned competitively and their related operations are maintained efficiently and cost effectively. Drive all new products and services initiatives from conceptualization till launch to deliver superior customer value and open new avenues for revenue generation for the Retail Banking.
Develop and manage Sharia’s compliant products and services with the objectives to increase profitability, customer base and market share.

At the 4th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2013) in Singapore, Bahrain based international standard-setting body the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) announced the launch of IIFM Inter-Bank Unrestricted Master Investment Wakalah Agreement. This global standard document is supplemented with an Operational Guidance Memorandum. It is developed to be used in the Islamic inter-bank market between financial institutions in order to manage their liquidity requirements. It is also aimed to minimise the over reliance on the use of the Commodity Murabaha in the inter-bank market transactions. The key main features of this Agreement is that the Investor, the Muwakkil, will appoint the Wakil as its Agent to invest its funds in a Shari’ah compliant manner in exchange for a fee.

Citi Bahrain and the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) recently organized a 'Women in Banking' roundtable that determined that there is a need to establish a forum to support and empower women working in Bahrain's banking and financial sector. Female banking executives from more than 15 institutions attended the seminar. Speakers pointed out the role of women in the banking and financial sector, which is the largest single employer in the Kingdom, with women making up 37 percent of its workforce. Challenges facing women in the financial sector like the prevailing attitude towards women, an existing male-dominated workforce, the organizational culture and a lack of female role models were discussed. The event was closed with a suggestion to form a working group to formulate recommendations on how best to further the development of women in the banking sector.

In a Tuesday filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Arcapita's official committee of unsecured creditors said it wants to challenge three sets of claims that it says could unlock millions of dollars for creditors of the liquidating firm. The creditors think they can recover more than $33 million owed to Arcapita being held by three Bahrain banks and save Arcapita from $100 million in liabilities stemming from a 2011 transaction with its subsidiary Arcapita Investment Holdings that may have been insolvent. The creditors also think they can get $1.2 million more related to a "preference" claim, which typically refers to claims from the 90-day period before a company files for bankruptcy. In their filing, the creditors said they didn't think litigation would be overly expensive.

Bahrain-based Venture Capital Bank reported a fifth consecutive quarter of profitable performance. The Islamic investment bank posted a net profit of $20.2 million on total revenue of $39.6m for the 15 months ended March 2013. For the quarter ended March this year, the profit was $1.7m and the revenue $5.08m. Total revenue increased 472 per cent on annualised basis to $39.6m for the 15-month period. Concurrently, total expenses decreased by 26pc on an annualised basis to $13.5m for the 15-month period as a result of cost reduction and organisational improvements. Shareholders' equity has grown by 9pc on an annualised basis to $199.2m as of March this year. The results affirm the bank's strategic focus on key sectors, such as healthcare, agribusiness, oil and gas and shipping and in the more economically and politically stable markets in the Mena region.

Khaleeji Commercial Bank and Bank Al Khair, a pair of Bahraini banks, are in talks over a potential merger. The banks have signed an agreement to explore the feasibility of a merger and are forming a steering committee to do due diligence and execute the deal. The proposed tie-up between Khaleeji, an Islamic bank founded in 2004 and listed on the Bahrain bourse, and Bank Al Khair, an Islamic investment bank, comes amid a wave of talks among Bahraini lenders. Three small Bahraini banks completed a merger in January, and Bahrain's Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank are currently pursuing a merger.

Tide Natural Gas Storage LP sued a former group of minority shareholders of Falcon Gas Storage Co., the bankrupt Arcapita subsidiary that sold natural-gas assets to Tide. The energy company says those shareholders' claims in Arcapita's bankruptcy shouldn't be paid before their own. The shareholders have been paid some of the money they were owed but are slated to receive an additional $8.25 million that lies in a $70 million account. The $70 million lies in an escrow account and stems from Tide's 2010 purchase of the natural-gas storage facilities from Falcon. Tide has been fighting for the money in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for two years. Arcapita has argued the $70 million claim by Tide should be subordinated to those of other creditors. The issue, Arcapita says, isn't whether the claim should be placed lower, but rather how much of it should be.