Bahrain's Ithmaar Bank said its chief executive and the head of a unit it is merging with will leave the bank, three weeks after a rights issue by the lender raised only half the targeted amount.   

In a statement on Wednesday, the bank said its chief executive Mohamed Hussain and Faisal Al Alwan, chief executive of Ithmaar's fully-owned Shamil Bank would join Dar Al-Maal Al-Islami Trust (DMI Trust), the bank's largest shareholder.   

Ithmaar had planned to raise about $200 million but could only raise $103 million in a rights issue last month, most of which was chipped in by DMI Trust.

It said Hussain would remain acting CEO until a new appointment is made. Ithmaar has converted itself into a retail lender by fully integrating its Shamil unit to improve its funding position after posting losses for much of 2009.

Bahrain's off-shore investment houses relied on investing the region's oil money into real estate and private equity, a market that collapsed during the financial crisis, forcing some of them to repair their balance sheets through rights issues.

Ithmaar also said on Wednesday it had now concluded the integration of Shamil into its operations, having won final regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). - Reuters