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Saudi Arabia's regulator has fined the country's biggest Islamic bank, Al-Rajhi , for not notifying it about the resignation of two senior executives, the regulator said.

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Press Release

*Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House earlier today completed the partial extension of a
$100 million facility. We consider this as another "distressed exchange" due to
partial extension of initial maturity. *We then reassessed GFH's creditworthiness
and raised the ratings to 'CCC-/C'. *The outlook is negative and reflects our
opinion of GFH's very weak liquidity position, from a rating standpoint, because it
still faces challenges to meet debt repayments coming due in the very near term.

PARIS (Standard & Poor's) March 3, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today
said it raised its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Bahrain-based
Gulf Finance House G.S.C. (GFH) to 'CCC-/C' from 'SD/SD' (selective default). The
outlook is negative.

"The rating action follows GFH's completion of the partial extension of maturity of
a $100 million facility," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Goeksenin Karagoez.

The first tranche of this facility was a $50 million payment due March 3, 2010, with
the remainder due on March 3, 2011. We understand that GFH has obtained consent for

Al Rajhi Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank, and Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), an international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today the launch of a $500m (SR1.875bn) fund, the ARC Real Estate Income Fund.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's (ADIB) rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Capitas Group, LLC, a US financial services firm specializing in developing and managing Shariah-compliant finance companies, to form a management company dedicated to the global development of the Shariah-compliant finance industry. ICD is a multilateral financial institution, which is part of the Islamic Development Bank.

CEO of HSBC Amanah will deliver the keynote address at Euromoney's Islamic Finance Summit in London on 23rd February 2010 at The Landmark.

In his speech, Mukhtar Hussian is expected to highlight how to put the economic crisis and lessons learnt from recent sukuk defaults to good use. He will also reveal how the industry can drive competitiveness with conventional banking, while ensuring stable growth through 'best in class' risk management. Also on the agenda: Why high-profile sukuk defaults have generated a timely debate, enforceability and the lessons the industry must learn about reputational risk.

In a presentation for the performance of the GCC banking sector, KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO) Research Department presents a detailed analysis for the financial statements for 58 banks with the purpose of shedding the light on the repercussions of the crisis on the financial position of the banking sector in the GCC Region which represents a key sector for any country's economy.

Moreover, total provisions booked by the GCC banking sector since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, have reached USD 11.7 billion of which USD 4.72 billion or 40% booked by Kuwaiti banks. It is worth noting that the provisions of Gulf Bank reached USD 1.76 billion, representing 37% of the total provisions booked by Kuwaiti banks since the start of the financial crisis in Sep-08.

KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO) Research Department had carried out a presentation of the performance of GCC banking sector by analysing the financial statements for 58 banks with the purpose of shedding the light on the repercussions of the crisis on the financial position of the banking sector in the GCC Region which represents a key sector for any country's economy and the analysis revealed as follows:
During 2008, GCC banks have witnessed record levels of provision for doubtful loans where together recorded total provisions of USD 7.1 billion. Provisions booked during FY 2008 represent a notable 243% increase from those booked during 2007 which recorded USD 2.1 billion, while provisions that had been booked during 2006 recorded USD 1.44 billion

Newly launched Saudi bank Alinma said on Saturday its fourth quarter net profit fell 85 percent from the previous quarter due to increased operational costs.

Press Release

Bahrain-Based Gulf Finance House Lowered To 'SD/SD' (Selective Default) On Partial Debt Extension

*Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) yesterday extended the maturity of $100
million of its $300 million syndicated loan by six months. *Because we consider the
partial debt maturity extension a "distressed exchange", we are downgrading GFH to
'SD/SD' (selective default) from 'CC/C'. *We expect GFH to soon extend the maturity
of another facility (subject to final approval from all syndicate members). Once the
maturity extension is finalized, we plan to reassess GFH's credit standing and
change the ratings accordingly.

PARIS (Standard & Poor's) Feb. 10, 2010--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said
today it lowered its long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on
Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House G.S.C. (GFH) to 'SD/SD' (selective default) from
'CC/C'.

"The downgrade to 'SD/SD' follows GFH's completion of the extension of maturity of
$100 million of its $300 million syndicated loan facility due Feb. 10, 2010," said
Standard & Poor's credit analyst Emmanuel Volland.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said it was committed to ensure that its plan to set up an Islamic bank in the Maldives in partnership with the government of the island would materialize soon.

Fitch Ratings says that 2009 proved to be, as anticipated by Fitch, a challenging year for banks in Saudi Arabia as the full impact of the global economic crisis caught up with the region, reflected in rising loan impairments and a rapid slowdown in lending. The preliminary 2009 results released by the 10 main Saudi commercial banks rated by Fitch showed different trends in net income in 2009, with Q409 being the worst quarter of the year.

Fitch notes that five of the 10 largest commercial banks operating in Saudi Arabia showed improvements in their net income y-o-y, but overall growth in total net income for all 10 banks stagnated in 2009 y-o-y (2008: -14.2%). Areas of concern included lower domestic economic growth, mainly reflecting lower oil revenues and exports, and the negative impact on asset quality of recent rapid credit growth as well as problematic exposures to some large Saudi trading groups (primarily Algosaibi and Saad). The agency has yet to see the full audited financial statements of the Saudi banks but will review them fully in the near future. At this stage, Fitch does not expect to see further downgrades of Individual Ratings in 2010.

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Charities Organization, Prince Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa inaugurated the Family Bank, a microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, at a ceremony held at the Gulf Hotel Convention Hall in Bahrain recently.

The government is likely to approve an Islamic banking licence for the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The move comes before the administration unveils its new economic model in which the services sector, and in particular Islamic finance, is given more emphasis.

Thomson Reuters announced the launch of a risk management system specifically tailored for Islamic banking.

Kondor+ Suite for Islamic Banking is a real time trade and risk management solution, which will provide full front-to-back and cross-asset coverage for Islamic banks as well as Islamic windows in conventional banks.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the central bank, is pressing ahead with developing a series of Shariah parameters that would provide a standard guidance on applying the respective Shariah contracts in Islamic finance.

In fact, BNM in December 2009 published its latest draft concept paper -- a Shariah Parameter Reference 3 (SPRC 3) -- on the Mudarabah contract. The paper has been sent to various market players in the Islamic finance industry for feedback. This follows the publishing in October 2009 of "Concept Paper -- Guidelines on Takaful Operational Framework" which outlines the parameters governing the operational processes of the Takaful business.

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has signed an agreement with Noor Takaful according to which the Bank will offer Noor Takaful Motor Takaful Insurance to all SIB customers through its network of 23 branches. This strategic partnership will enable SIB customers to access Noor Takaful's motor insurance plans for their currently owned or newly purchased sedans and 4x4s at preferential rates and with minimum documentation.

Qatar International Islamic (QIIB) Bank has made a donation to support the programmes of the Centre for Educational Perspectives, Qatar.

The Centre has offered a helping hand to Kerala in revoking a stay order by the state high court against setting up of an Islamic bank.

Noting that the court order could hamper investment opportunities in the country, Union minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid said the Centre would coordinate with the state government in dealing with the issue legally.

The Kerala government cleared the project after a feasibility study found that Islamic bank was a viable proposition in Kerala. A company was also registered to take the process forward. The share capital of the proposed bank had been fixed at Rs 1,000 crore.

According to the Islamic banking concept, the bank will not pay any interest to customers. A Sharia board can decide what sort of investments the bank can make. The bank will also have Sharia-compliant banking products.

Profits made out of the investments will be distributed to shareholders.