Bahrain Financial Services

The wide array of local and international insurance companies that operate out of Manama have flourished in a regulatory environment that has allowed them to serve the small domestic market while simultaneously extending their operations regionally. A history of sound prudential oversight has protected them from the series of economic shocks that have created a challenging economic environment...

Bahrain’s sharia-compliant financial institutions enter 2017 after weathering the tumultuous economic environment and changing regulatory landscape of the previous year. Despite the challenges, the kingdom’s Islamic banks continue to expand in the domestic market and beyond, while activity in the newly reinforced sharia-compliant insurance sector is well positioned to continue along a...

The region’s exchanges have operated in adverse economic conditions since the decline of oil prices began in the second half of 2014, and the Bahrain Bourse is no exception. However, the apparent stabilisation of global oil prices in 2016 has brought a similar firming of the main index and, after a year of shrinking stock prices, some increasingly attractive valuations. The larger story of...

Bahrain’s banking sector has managed two years of a challenging low oil-price environment without seeing significant deterioration in its financial stability indicators. Conventional lenders and Islamic financiers operating within the kingdom’s famously robust regulatory framework have also managed to maintain profitability throughout this period thanks to efficiency drives and continued...