Bahrain to Discuss Bank Regulations with U.S. Treasury

Bahraini authorities will discuss with the U.S. Treasury the international banks’ reluctance to deal with Banks in Bahrain and the Gulf because of tight U.S. regulation, Bahrain’s central bank governor Rasheed Mohammed al-Maraj said. The fact that many international banks have curtailed their correspondent services with regional and local banks has affected a wide sector of the population, especially the expatriates, he added. According to Maraj, officials in Bahrain, had met U.S. Treasury officials last November and scheduled another meeting on the issue in April. The U.S. regulations imposed on Bahrain, one of the Gulf’s financial centers, are part of a tougher regime introduced since the financial crisis, include scrutiny of potential tax avoidance and anti-money laundering rules.