CBB licence for Bank of Baroda

The new licence marks the return to Bahrain of Bank of Baroda, the 5th largest bank in India. The bank's total assets stood at $36.4bn for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2007, while net profit for the year amounted to $261m.

Bank of Baroda first established an offshore banking unit (OBU) in Bahrain in 1980, which was closed in 1993 due to a forex crisis in India.

The new wholesale branch operation in Bahrain will target high net worth individuals and corporates in the region. Its main lines of business will be deposit products, loans and syndications, trade finance and structured products, treasury products and services as well as participating in debt market and private banking/wealth management services.

"The CBB welcomes the return of Bank of Baroda to Bahrain," said Mr. Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al Bassam, Director, Licensing & Policy, at the CBB.

The business environment for wholesale banking is particularly attractive, given the economic boom taking place in the Middle East region and India, he pointed out.

Bahrain's wholesale banking industry has grown significantly over the past two years, with the consolidated assets of wholesale banks amounting to US$177.2 billion in August 2007, an increase of over 20% over the same time last year.

The wholesale banking industry represents 80.5% of the consolidated assets of Bahrain's banking system, which stood at US$220 billion in August 2007, an increase of 32% over the same time last year.

"The financial services industry is a major beneficiary of the economic expansion taking place in the GCC and wider Middle East region," said Mr. Al Bassam.

"The CBB, on its part, is committed to ensuring that Bahrain remains a jurisdiction of choice for financial services providers interested in doing business in the region and beyond."