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Ithmaar Bank chairman Prince Amr Mohammed Al Faisal told shareholders that the Bank had received verbal approval to proceed with its reorganisation plans, and that written approval will follow shortly.
Speaking at the shareholders' general assembly held at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Prince Amr said that the Bank would immediately implement plans for a comprehensive reorganisation with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shamil Bank. The reorganisation, which will turn Ithmaar Bank into a premier Islamic retail bank, involves both banks pooling their resources together to create a single, more efficient and significantly stronger retail-focused bank with an Islamic licence, under the Ithmaar brand. Plans for the reorganisation were approved by Ithmaar shareholders in November 2009, during an EGM.
"The Ithmaar Board of Directors received assurances from the Central Bank of Bahrain that the reorganisation plans had been approved and that formal written approval is now being issued," said Prince Amr. "This allows us to start Ithmaar's transformation, from a conventional investment bank into an Islamic retail-focused bank, and to focus upon realising our new strategic objectives," he said.
Following the reorganisation, and as part of its new board-approved three-year strategic plan, Ithmaar will focus on developing its retail operations, by expanding its products and services range as well as its delivery channels, and on expanding its geographical reach across the GCC region by offering a wide range of corporate banking services.
To fund this planned expansion, Ithmaar had announced capital raising initiatives designed to raise a total of up to $400 million.
The Bank's capital raising initiatives, which include the launch of a Mandatory Convertible Sukuk, kicked off on a high note with the successful launch of a rights issue.
