Abbas Al Derazi confirmed as GM of BMI

Confirming this, Sheikh AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Chairman, BMI said, "Abbas was appointed the Acting General Manager of BMI in April 2006 and his new appointment as GM of BMI confirms the boards' faith in his abilities as well as management skills. On behalf of the board directors we wish him the very best."

The appointment further strengthens BMI's position in Bahrain and reaffirms its commitment towards becoming a dynamic regional bank. Abbas, a seasoned banker, with over 26 years of experience, took over as the Acting General manager of BMI in April 2006. Abbas has been a senior member of BMI's management team and had successfully launched the Retail Banking operations at BankMuscat, Bahrain in April 2002.

Earlier in his position as head- Retail Banking, he had been responsible for the growth of the BMI's retail banking operations in Bahrain. He has earlier held senior positions at Yamichi International (Middle East) E.C as Associate Investment Manager where his responsibilities included promoting financial instruments, fund management, dealing with client accounts and portfolio creation and at ABN AMRO as Relationship Manager, Assistant Vice President, International Private Banking.

This development comes in the wake of BMI posting strong financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2006 during which the Bank announced a net profit of USD 8.9 million (BD 3.4 million) an increase of over 29% as compared to the corresponding period last year when the Bank recorded a net profit of USD 6.9 million (BD 2.6 million). Total Assets for the year grew by 55% to USD 663.13 million (BD 250 million) while loans and advances grew by 42% to USD 937 million (BD 353 million). Return on Equity (ROE) stood at 17.6% while the Earnings Per Share (EPS) stood at 0.60 cents (0.225 fils).

BMI was set up early last year by some of the strongest and most visionary investors from across the region, is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities that are arising in the GCC & MENA region. BMI is a full commercial bank, registered in Bahrain and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).