With the exception of Saudi Arabia, the banking sector across the GCC is generally fragmented in nature, with a large number of institutions pursuing business within relatively small bankable populations. For decades regulators have extolled the virtues of sector consolidation, in some cases approaching banks discretely to encourage a merger,...
How will the fixed-income segment evolve in an era of lower oil prices and tighter budgets?
While bankers might decry the slowdown in growth resulting from curtailed government spending and investor uncertainty, economists – who generally take a longer-term view – often see a silver lining in a sustained drop in the price of a barrel of oil.
The landscape for fixed income has evolved significantly over the last few years and never has the argument for Bahraini bonds as a natural diversifier been stronger than in the last 12 months of 2017.
As Bahrain’s banking sector completes its third full year of operation in a lower oil price environment, profitability and asset growth in the industry has turned flat. However, thanks to a robust regulatory framework, there has been no significant deterioration in asset quality, and there is sufficient liquidity in the system to allow banks...
In October 2016 the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) obtained permission from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to establish the Bahrain Investment Market (BIM), paving the way for the exchange to open its much-anticipated market to small to mid-cap companies. Officially launched in March 2017, the initiative is in accord with the government’s broader...
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