Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), with a consolidated asset base of $ 25.7 billion with a shareholder’s equity of $3.6 billion, on Tuesday announced that Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Saddek El Kaber, would lead ABC board as the new Chairman.
El Kaber, prior to his appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya in September 2011, was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ABC’s wholly-owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom, ABC International Bank plc.
“As ABC is majority owned by the Central Bank of Libya, the last eleven months have been a challenging period for the ABC Group as a result of the civil unrest in Libya, and the imposition of international sanctions against Libya; not withstanding these significant headwinds over the course of 2011, the fact that ABC approaches 2012 with a very strong capital base and excellent liquidity is testament to the resilience of ABC’s business model and its prudent management,” Hassan Ali Juma, President and Chief Executive of ABC, said.
“The ABC Group, having presence in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, is well placed to take advantage of the much improved political landscape across the North Africa region and I look forward to working with ABC’s reconstituted board of directors in ensuring the continued success of the ABC Group,” Juma added.
ABC also announced the appointment of Dr. Khaled Kagigi and Sami Rais as new directors to the ABC board.
Dr. Kagigi is the Executive Director for the Central Banking Operations at the Central Bank of Libya, having previously been a Professor of Accounting at Garyounis University, Libya. Dr. Kagigi has also previously held a number of senior positions at various Libyan financial institutions.
Dr. Kagigi is currently a member of the board of directors of British Arab Commercial Bank in the United Kingdom.
Rais is the Executive Director of the Financial and Monetary Stability Group at the Central Bank of Libya, having previously held a number of senior positions at various Libyan and overseas financial institutions.
Rais is currently a member of the board of directors of Libyan Foreign Bank.
Mohammed Layas, Mohamed Shokri and Dr. Mohammed Abusneina have left the Board of Directors of ABC. The board of directors thanked the three departing directors for their service.
ABC offers a wide range of banking products including Trade Finance, Project and Structured Finance, Syndications, Corporate and Institutional banking, Treasury services, Islamic banking and Retail banking in the MENA region.
ABC is an international universal bank headquartered in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain with a network spread across 21 countries in the MENA, Europe, the Americas and Asia. ABC, founded in 1980, is listed on the Bahrain Bourse and its major shareholders are the Central Bank of Libya and Kuwait Investment Authority.