'KHCB' holds AGM to assign and elect new Board of Directors

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain: Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), one of the leading islamic banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain, held on Wednesday 23^rd September 2020 its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Al Areen Palace Resort and Spa. The meeting was chaired by Board Member Mr. Hisham Al Rayes, in the presence of KHCB CEO Mr. Sattam Algosaibi, as well as several members of the executive administration, shareholders and representatives from regulatory authorities. The event was held with the aim of assigning and electing a new Board of Directors for the next three years, as this procedure was not possible during the previous AGM which was held through visual communication earlier in March due to the inability to perform the secret ballot electronically. This resulted in extending the work period of the current Board of Directors for another six months with the approval of the Central Bank of Bahrain and the relevant regulatory authorities.

The AGM kicked-off with reading and approving the previous AGM’s Minutes of Meeting, which was held on 25^th March 2020, following which the attendees discussed the agreement signed by the relevant parties, and the shareholders approved it in accordance with Article (189) of Bahrain’s Commercial Companies Law.

Thereafter, the attendees moved to the item related to appointing and electing 10 members to the Board of Directors for the next three years, where it was approved to allocate five seats to GFH, with the appointment of Mr. Jassim Alseddiqi, Mr. Hisham Al Rayes, Mr. Musabbah Al Mutairi and Mr. Mustafa Kheriba among its representatives, while the election results was that Mr. Fawad Tariq Khan, Sh. Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Mr. Reyadh Eid Al Yaqoob, Mr. Mazen Ebrahim Abdulkareem, and Mr. Isa Abdulla Zainal got the highest votes and won membership with KHCB’s Board of Directors, as KHCB had previously announced the opening of candidacy for 5 seats in the Board for a period of 3 years (2020-2023) in accordance with Article (24) Paragraph (3) of the Bank's Articles of Association.

On this occasion, KHCB Board Member and AGM Chairman Mr. Hisham Ahmed Al Rayes expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Board Members whose membership term has ended, thanking them for their valuable contributions and devotion during the previous term. At the same time, Mr. Al Rayes welcomed the new Board Members and wished them all the best in the upcoming term. He also thanked the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the CBB, and Bahrain Bourse for their continuous cooperation and support to the Bank, as well as all shareholders, investors, and clients for their continued support, in addition to all of KHCB’s employees for their efforts and dedication during the previous term.

Mr. Al Rayes addressed the attendees saying: "The new Board is rich with banking and financial competencies, who have a long experience in the banking and investment field. They will surely have a clear positive impact on continuing the Bank's progress and development, which has successfully issued Sukuk worth USD 159 million recently and covered it completely, thanks to the provision and trust received from shareholders to issue the Sukuk as part of Additional Tier 1 Capital with a value of USD 200 million, in a way that serves the Bank’s continuation in taking firm steps towards achieving its new strategic foundations by strengthening its financial position and sustaining its capabilities in providing the best banking solutions in a manner that supports the Bank’s future plans for growth and expansion."

Mr. Al Rayes continued: "KHCB is on the verge of a new stage of profitability, diversification of income and reinforcement of its capital, all of which will contribute to the achievement of interim objectives of the Bank’s strategy and support its growth and profitability, enabling it to diversify sources of financing, in order to support the Bank’s business growth and development plan for the coming years and enhance the returns attained to shareholders. Our firm financial base and flexible strategy will noticeably contribute to strengthening the Bank's capability to overcome all challenges with more optimism and confidence, as well as the extraordinary circumstances that overshadowed regional and international markets and economies, due to the repercussions imposed by the global outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on all sectors."

Commenting further, Mr. Al Rayes explained that the Sukuk issued recently by KHCB will be the key supporter of the new capital restructuring process, with a focus on achieving the aspirations of shareholders and clients by launching strategic projects and enhancing momentum in commercial and investment activities with rewarding returns, which are carefully studied and examined in a way that benefits all parties concerned with the Bank’s development and enhancement.

For his part, KHCB CEO Mr. Sattam Sulaiman Algosaibi said: "Owing to the Board of Directors’ ambitious vision, the Bank will continue achieving more milestones within its keen endeavours to preserve its leading position among Islamic banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This is accomplished through a high solvency ratio that enables it to fulfil all its commitments and finance new strategic projects, represented by supporting commercial activities, establishing bigger partnerships with strategic partners, opening new branches, and moving towards digital transformation."

Mr. Algosaibi added: "The executive administration has thoughtfully worked throughout the past six months to achieve the Bank's new strategic interim objectives, which is reflected on the accomplishment of positive results in the first half of this year. We will work in the next period on maintaining our performance and business development within the directives of the new Board of Directors."

The CEO finished saying: "The Bank will continue to invest in eBanking Service Systems and the quality of services provided to clients through the application of the latest technologies in banking services and development of an integrated bundle of innovative banking technology solutions to be launched in the foreseeable future, to include all platforms and smart applications. We will also work to establish more strategic relations with our partners in the business sector, in order to enter joint projects that reinforce our investment portfolio and benefit the Bank's financial position."

KHCB is a leading Islamic bank that strives to achieve clients' aspirations through an Islamic banking model that offers a comprehensive range of high quality Shari'a-complaint banking services and investment opportunities to individuals and companies.

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© Press Release 2020