MANAMA: Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President and Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) and Chairman of the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) visited the Iraqi capital and held talks with the bankers to seek opportunities of broader role of ABG with Iraqi banking sector.
Mr Adnan, on the invitation of the Association of Iraqi Private Banks, along with a delegation from the Union of Arab Banks, consisting of Mr. Wissam Fattouh, Secretary General of the Union and Mrs. Raja Kammouny, Media Advisor to the Union visited Baghdad in order to strengthen relations between the Bahraini banks in particular and the Arab banks in general with the Iraqi traditional and Islamic banks, and open new horizons for these relations in all areas of financing and investment.
During the visit, the delegation met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq HE Dr. Ali Al-Alaq in the presence of the Deputy Governor Dr. Munther Abdul Qader Al-Sheikhly and a number of officials of the Bank.
The delegation also met with the President of the Association of Iraqi Private Banks Mr. Wadih Handal in the presence of the general managers of the Iraqi private banks as well as a number of general managers of major government banks such as Rafidain Bank, Rasheed Bank and the heads of Islamic and traditional banks in Iraq.
“We have been very pleased with the fraternal visit we have made to brotherly Iraq and met with officials of the Central Bank of Iraq, the Association of Iraqi Private Banks and Iraqi Banks with a view to opening new horizons for cooperation between Bahraini and Arab banks on the one hand and Iraqi banks on the other. We received all the welcome and hospitality, and this is not strange to our people in Iraq, which has brotherly and historical ties with the Kingdom of Bahrain,” Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.
“We look forward to supporting Iraq’s stability and encouraging strengthening economic, trade and investment ties with the Kingdom of Bahrain by opening banking financing and investment channels in order to support these trends. We are ready to provide all banking services to Iraqi banks to achieve this goal.”
Mr. Wissam Fattouh, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Banks also referred to the Union’s readiness to provide training and advice to banks and financial institutions in Iraq.
Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain, listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion. It is jointly rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) on the international scale and A+ (bh) (long term) / A2 (bh) (short term) on the national by Islamic International Rating Agency & Dagong Global Credit Rating Company Limited, and by Standard & Poor’s at BB+ (long term) / B (short term).
Al Baraka offers retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari’a. The authorized capital of Al Baraka is US$ 1.5 billion, while total equity is at about US$ 2.1 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 16 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, including two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.
