The Bahrain Association of Banks held its Annual General Meeting on the 30th March at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The meeting was attended by Chief Executives and senior management representing 41 members out of the 77 from the member banks that are entitled to attend the meeting. The Association's activities throughout 2010 and the year's financial report were reviewed and approved.
Mr. Abdulkarim Bucheery, the Association's Chairman and CEO of BBK, explained that the financial sector was relieved that 2010 had turned out to be better in terms of business than 2009. He said: "The major events the Association had committed to early in the year were fully-funded so as not to have any negative impact on the Association's results.
"Highlights of the year included the Association's Annual Gala Dinner under the patronage of HRH Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Chairman of the Economic Development Board, the Banks in Bahrain reception in Washington prior to the IMF/World Bank meetings and networking events for visiting delegations from Malta, Senegal, Bermuda, Brazil and Hong Kong.
A major milestone in 2010 was the registration of the Association with the Central Bank of Bahrain and de-registration from the Ministry of Social Development. "This will provide better oversight of the Association and enhance its relationship with the Central Bank. In addition the Board held several consultative meetings with the Governor and Executive Directors of the Central Bank to share their mutual concerns on the Bahraini economy, banking sector and policy matters," Mr. Bucheery added
To demonstrate the maturity and professionalism of the Bahrain banking community, the Association continued to produce The Gateway, its quarterly newsletter, produced four editions of The Bahrain Banker magazine and published The Handbook of Islamic Banking and Finance. All these publications have received excellent reviews both locally and internationally.
The Association's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Robert Ainey, commented: "The year 2010 was a financially-challenging one for the Association. We continued a very high pace of activities and growth while not seeing the growth in membership that was expected, despite the positive turn-around in the financial sector. This resulted in a deficit for the year, but the accumulated surplus at the end of 2009 meant that the Association is in reasonable financial shape."
Following the ordinary AGM, an Extraordinary General Meeting was held during which three important amendments to the Articles of Association were approved.
During the AGM, a Board of Directors was elected by secret ballot to serve for two years. The election was conducted under the supervision of Mr Ahmed Al Bassam, Director of Licensing at the CBB. The new Board comprises:
(1) Mr. Abdulkarim Bucheery (CEO, BBK);
(2) Mr. Mohammed Ebrahim Mohammed (CEO, BisB);
(3) Mr Mazin Manna (CEO Citibank);
(4) Mr. Jamal Al-Hazeem (CEO, BMI);
(5) Dr. Farid Al-Mulla (CEO, Oasis Capital Bank);
(6) Mr. Mohammed Al-Mutaweh (CEO, Al Baraka Bank)
And two independent Directors:
- Mr. Isa Abdul Rahim (BCCI)
- Mr. Rashed Abdul Rahim (formerly with GIB).
Mr. Bucheery closed the meeting by thanking the Board of Directors for their contribution to a very busy year for the Association and for the ongoing support of all the members. He extended the Association's special thanks to the outgoing Board members namely; Sh. Mohammed Bin Isa AlKhalifa (CEO of EDB); Mr Adnan Yousif (CEO of Al Baraka Group) and Mr Adel Al Labban (CEO of AUB).
Following the proceedings of the AGM and EGM, the new Board held its first meeting and resolved to distribute the positions within the new Board as follows:
-Ends-
© Press Release 2011
