Al Baraka Banking Group EGM approves license conversion of Bahrain-based parent company

Published 02 Dec,2020 via bizbahrain - Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG) successfully concluded an Extraordinary General Meeting of its shareholders, which approved the recommendation of its Board of Directors to formally initiate the process of converting the Group’s current Islamic Wholesale Bank license in the Kingdom of Bahrain to a Category 1 Islamic Investment Firm license, subject to receiving the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), under whose regulatory supervision the Group would continue to operate.

The meeting, which took place virtually, was presided over by the ABG’s Chairman, Shaikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel, and attended by members of its Board of Directors, senior executive management, representative of the Unified Shari’a Supervisory Board and a quorum of shareholders; in addition to representatives from Central Bank of Bahrain, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Bahrain Bourse.

The license conversion will allow the Group to change the operational structure of its parent company in Bahrain to better align it to the Group’s strategy and business model, while ensuring that it can still continue to fully benefit from the regulatory framework of the CBB. However, the conversion will in no way impact the Group’s banking subsidiaries, including Al Baraka Islamic Bank Bahrain, which will continue their banking activities and business as usual under the supervision of the CBB and their respective local banking regulators. The Group will also continue to be listed on the Bahrain Bourse and NASDAQ Dubai.