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Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to establish a presence in Bahrain, in what would be its first overseas foray and a welcome addition to the kingdom’s Islamic banking sector.
Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, announced the plans during a visit by bank officials to the Gulf state, state news agency BNA said on Sunday.
No details were given on the timeframe to start operations or what type of licence was being sought.
The move would help rekindle Bahrain’s Islamic banking sector, which includes six retail banks and 18 wholesale banks. As of June, they held a combined $24.6 billion in assets, a 5.2 percent drop from a year earlier, central bank data showed.
