MANAMA: Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK), which reported core business profits of 71.2 million dinars (SR917 milion; $244 million) in 2008, a growth of 51 percent compared with 2007, is set to maintain sustained growth during 2009, said the bank’s CEO.
“We are on the right path as the bank is ready to open Bahrain’s biggest Financial Mall in West Riffa by March,” said A. Karim Bucheery, BBK CEO. BBK will also open three new financial malls one each in Hamad Town, Isa Town and Exhibition Road.
Bucheery, highlighting the features of the bank’s strategy, said 2009 would be extremely difficult but BBK would continue to invest in human resources and network expansion.
BBK reported a profit of 27.1 million dinars for 2008, a decline of 2.9 million dinars compared to 2007. “The banking business in the region was hit hard by the subprime crisis and later by the credit squeeze. At BBK we felt the tremors of the global crisis and the bank had to make certain bitter decisions. BBK navigated through the most difficult waters and the bank is on the right track for development,” Bucheery said.
“The bank made provision for impairments arising from the global financial crisis. The bank set aside 46.9 million dinars for provisions against certain financial assets to respond to the adverse conditions in the global financial markets. Largely, the provision is meant for businesses outside Bahrain and the bank will watch the situation very closely,” he added.
Talking about CrediMax, the fully owned subsidiary of BBK, he said, it has emerged as one of the leading brands in credit card businesses in Bahrain.