Bahrain Financial Services

With fewer hydrocarbons resources than many of its Gulf neighbours, Bahrain’s status as a financial centre is crucial to its long-term economic development. One of the biggest concerns arising from the political unrest of 2011, therefore, was that is banking sector would see an exodus of brand names to other Gulf capitals. The decision by...

Widely regarded as a leading centre of innovation in Islamic financial services (IFS) and known for its robust and responsive regulation, Bahrain is growing in influence. The kingdom’s Islamic financial institutions are regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), and in 2014 the CBB has made a number of refinements to its codes and rules for...

Pension fund assets in the Middle East and North Africa could be worth $5trn by 2020, and financial analysts forecast that if institutional pension fund investors in the GCC divert just 20% of their current assets under management to the Islamic asset management sector, it could represent a $36bn boost for the industry. With its strong track record of developing new...

With one of the world’s longest traditions in Islamic banking and a diverse offering of retail and wholesale shariacompliant lenders, Bahrain is seen as a leading centre of one of the fastest-growing global financial phenomena. A number of international institutions providing guidance, ratings, standards and education in Islamic finance have...

What new asset classes are emerging that could provide sustainable profits for the future?

Buffeted by successive financial storms in the years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bahrain’s financial sector is poised to take advantage of renewed optimism and confidence in key parts of the global economy. The overall shape and composition of the country’s banking sector has changed since 2008, but it has proved resilient overall and...