Credit Agricole to close Bahrain office

“While
sources said that the move has been talked about for some time, they
admitted that the unrest which affected the country earlier this year
did have some impact on the decision,” said IFR, a Thomson Reuters
service. “However, while there have been rumors of potential
departures, until now, the flow of financial institutions away from the
island has been minimal at most,” IFR said in a briefing, adding that
Credit Agricole did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier in
August, Fitch Ratings removed Bahrain from a negative rating watch
following the lifting of a state of emergency, after a similar ratings
action by Standard & Poor’s.