Al Salam Bank - Bahrain is the golden sponsor for 9th GCC Banking Conference

The conference is organized by the Central Bank of Bahrain in cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat General and will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Spa in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 24-25 March 2009 under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

The conference topics will focus on the GCC legislative regulatory Industry and provide participants the opportunity to discuss with regulators and legislators the most significant issues and its impact on regional markets.

On this occasion, commented the Director and Chief Executive Officer of Al Salam Bank-Bahrain, Mr. Yousif Taqi, "We are proud to support this important conference for involving financial institutions in the process of formulating and decision-making especially at this critical stage the global financial markets in general and in the Gulf particular are facing. We are honored to be partners with the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat General in the policy-shaping landmark of the conference."

Taqi said, "Al Salam Bank-Bahrain is committed to adopting international standards and implement best practices in the fields of corporate governance and the application of international standards in risk management."

Taqi concluded, "being an Islamic bank, we are serious and keen to play our role and responsibility to contribute to the development of the local and regional economy to boost Islamic Banking."

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain was incorporated in January 2006 with a paid up capital of BD120m $318m) and was listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange on 27 April 2006 and Dubai Financial Market on 26 March 2008. The bank has achieved excellent financial results during its third year ending 31 December 2008 of operations with a net profit amounted to BD25,5m ($67.6m).

The main Keynote speakers at the conference are Sir Howard Davies, the Director of the London School of Economics (LSE), and Dr. Martin Feldestein, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a selection of leading specialist and experts from various international institutions, regulatory agencies, educational institutions and financial institutions.

The attendees list for this influential event include Governors of GCC central banks and monetary agencies, heads of GCC stock exchanges and financial markets, senior bankers from the region, as well as representatives of major financial institutions in the world. The program of the two days conference will consist of 7 comprehensive sessions that includes all economic aspects, and then the conference will conclude its sessions by a regional meeting of Governors to define the required action and begin implementation.

This conference has been taking place over 15 years and is hosted by each of the GCC countries in rotation. This year event is hosted in Kingdom of Bahrain.