MANAMA, Kingdom of Bahrain - 7 September 2006: Al Salam Bank today announced the signing of a major agreement with TEMENOS Group, a Geneva-based Swiss company, for the provision of a state-of-the-art core banking system. Out of six bidders, the Bank has selected TEMENOS T24, an industry-leading modular core banking system, to support the establishment of its head office operations in Bahrain and provide the necessary scalability to facilitate its strategy of regional expansion.

Commenting on the signing of this deal with TEMENOS, Mr. Yousif Taqi, Chief Executive Officer of Al Salam Bank, said: "In order to establish the Bank as a global force in the Islamic financial services industry, it is critically important to ensure that we have the right technological foundation. We are committed to providing clients with innovative and differentiated Sharia-compliant products and services, through the utilization of the latest available technology and in line with the highest international standards in the industry.

"We chose TEMENOS because of its excellent track record in the Middle East region, having completed implementations for several Islamic banks. We were also impressed and reassured by the significant investment in R&D by TEMENOS, which will ensure that TEMENOS T24 remains the most advanced system available.

"We are confident that this significant investment in state-of-the-art IT infrastructure will provide significant benefits - to the Bank in terms of operational agility, reliability and efficiency - and to clients in the form of custom-designed financial solutions and delivery channels, and superior levels of service," he added.

Commenting on the signing of the agreement with Al Salam Bank, TEMENOS Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Andreas Andreades, said: "This is the latest in a successful line of projects for us in the Islamic banking sector. Al Salam bank joins a growing list of financial institutions in the Middle East that are utilising our core banking technology to compete successfully in this rapidly growing market."

TEMENOS' open technology will give the Bank the flexibility to choose the most appropriate platform and database for its needs. The system will run on HP servers at the Bank's Bahrain headquarters with Oracle 10G database software. The TEMENOS T24 system will provide full functionality, including Islamic, retail, corporate, treasury, trade and private banking capabilities.

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NOTE TO EDITORS
About Al Salam Bank
Established on 17 April 2006 in the Kingdom of Bahrain with a paid-up capital of US$ 317 million (BD 120 million), Al Salam Bank Bahrain BSC operates under an Islamic retail banking licence issued by the Bahrain Monetary Agency. The Bank's Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 35 per cent of the paid-up capital, which closed in March 2006, raised over US$ 7 billion (BD 2.7 billion) and was the largest IPO in the Kingdom's history. The Bank was subsequently listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange on 27 April 2006.

The founding shareholders of Al Salam Bank hold 65 per cent of the paid-up capital. They include Emaar Properties, Amlak Finance, Dubai Investment Group, Dubai Holding, Global Investment House, Lebanese Canadian Bank, Al Salam Bank Sudan, and Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (AMAN).

The interim results posted by the Bank for the half-year ended 30 June 2006 showed net profits of US$ 11.1 million (BD 4.2 million). This performance reflected a return on average equity of just under 9 per cent.

The vision of Al Salam Bank is to become a global force in the Islamic financial services industry, offering innovative and differentiated Sharia-complaint products and services to clients and investors in specific target segments. The Bank is committed to providing superior levels of customer service, adopting the highest international standards and global best practices, and contributing to the regional and global development of the Islamic  financial services industry.

About TEMENOS
Founded in 1993, TEMENOS Group AG is a provider of integrated modular core banking systems to over 500 financial institutions worldwide. TEMENOS software provides banks with a single, real-time view of the client across the enterprise, enabling banks to maximize returns while streamlining costs. Whether providing 24/7 functionality to retail, universal, wholesale and private banking sectors, partnering with central banks on core system replacement, or working with the World Bank on solutions for the emerging markets, TEMENOS knows banking. The company has a transparent approach to its operations and brings to bear its experience, expertise, commitment and professionalism on every project.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company has 39 offices in 31 countries and is listed on the main segment of the SWX Swiss Exchange (TEMN).

For further information, please contact:
Lina Husri
Media & PR Executive
Mobile. +97150 280 35 80
lina@o2mc.ae

© Press Release 2006