Al-Baraka CEO :Banks to accomplish higher growth rates

The Arab banks association chairman Adnan Ahmed Yusuf emphasized that Bahraini banks shall accomplish an average growth rate between 5% to 8%, pointing out that anticipated Government expenditure on giant government-sponsored projects shall boost continual growth of Bahraini banks revenues. Mr. Yusuf told the daily Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper that Bahraini banks were the least affected by repercussions of the financial crises on the Arab banking industry as almost all 414 banks registered in Bahrain kept intact until December 2011. He pointed out that 20 financial and banking institutions were registered last year which leads observers to consider this a strong indicator of the solid state of the financial and banking sector which consider the Kingdom of Bahrain as its regional and international hub. Bahrain also registed 104 new investment funds worth a total investment amount of US$ 8.3 billion in 2011. Mr. Adnan Yusuf anticipates a good growth rate and profitability in Arabian banks this year and to recover from the impact of internal policy crisis and global fiscal crunch and to announce higher dividends. Mr. Adnan Yusuf is the CEO of Al-Baraka Banking Group, which he anticipates shall accomplish good profits this year according to the group's current strategic annual plan. The group has 13 branch offices worldwide.