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Banks' association set to play key role

Manama, November 5, 2008

The new-look Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) is a new slimmer organisation for the industry.

And it is ready to make a bigger contribution to both the kingdom's banking sector and its growth as a regional and global financial centre, said a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

That's the view of BAB chairman Mayank Malik, who is also chief executive officer of Citibank in Bahrain.

He said that the BAB is currently working closely with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) in its new role and that the industry locally was confident that the actions of the CBB and its regulatory controls would mean that the worst of the global crisis will not unduly hit the future growth of Bahrain and a leading financial centre.

'We have seen the whole world go into crisis,' he said.

'People were talking about de-coupling between the West and the rising economies but the credit crunch has shown that everything is interconnected and to say that Bahrain can be oblivious to what is happening elsewhere in the world is simplistic.

'But this remains a different region and the mortgage problems of the US do not exist here and there are no problems in real estate finance.

'A lot of liquidity has been generated in the region. We have been working closely with the regulators to ensure stability.

'Bahrain has a highly professional single regulator and that means there is no need for panic here. There is an issue but it is something we need to manage,' he said.

'The CBB has made it clear that its repro desk is open to provide any bank help with liquidity problems, but so far this has not been needed,' he added. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: CBB | BAB | global financial centre |

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