The Islamic bankers expect the current 9.7 percent share of the overall banking industry in Pakistan to double by 2017. The deposits base of Islamic banking in the country would cross the Rs 1 trillion mark by next five years or so.
This was stated by Ali Ahmed Siddiqui, Executive VP of Product Development and Shariah Compliance Department of Meezan Bank, while addressing a group of journalists at a workshop on “Concept of Islamic Banking” held at Meezan House on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Barwa Bank, which recently launched the private banking proposition and debt capital markets, also increased its investment portfolio by 14% to QR7.6bn, while total shareholders’ equity was QR5.3bn at the end of March 31.
“Our strong financial performance for the first quarter of the year is a validation of our strategy and represents progress on our journey to becoming Qatar’s most recommended Shariah-compliant banking group,” Barwa Bank chairman and managing director Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Interest-free banking may attract Malaysian investors in India, if efforts by local financial institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGO) to seek approval for Islamic banking under a new platform are successful.
Earlier this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made it clear that it could not allow interest-free banking in India, in a blow to attempts by Islamic banking players to get the system recognised in India, but the tide seems to be turning for a solution………………………………………..Full Article: Source

While continuing to focus on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, as markets for growth and more recently, Oman as one which offers big opportunities, the key focus for HSBC’s regional strategy going forward would be in the areas of infrastructure finance and Islamic debt capital market, according to Simon Cooper, chief executive officer of HSBC Middle East.
“The continued growth in infrastructure investment is going to be the key theme in the region and that theme is going to be developed further as well into being an enabler… of capital markets,” said Cooper during the annual company presentation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Affin Holdings Bhd has dismissed speculation that it was involved in talks with AMMB Holdings Bhd as well as six other banks to sell off its banking unit, Affin Bank Bhd, said its deputy chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.
“I can confirm that we’re not talking to anyone in terms of divestment or acquisition. We’ve just gotten approval to initiate discussions with Hwang-DBS (Malaysia) Bhd in view of acquiring Hwang-DBS. There is no other merger and acquisition (M&A) activity,” he told a press conference after the group’s AGM………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Senior Shariah scholars and advisers of Islamic banks and conventional banks with Islamic windows have agreed to standardise Forex and interbank Musharakah agreements between Islamic banks and Islamic banking windows.
This move will facilitate the availability of Shariah-compliant venues for deployment of excess liquidity of Islamic banks. This agreement was reached during a meeting called by Meezan Bank Ltd, in which Shariah scholars discussed the challenges in Islamic Treasury Operations………………………………………..Full Article: Source

While continuing to focus on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, as markets for growth and more recently, Oman as one which offers big opportunities, the key focus for HSBC’s regional strategy going forward would be in the areas of infrastructure finance and Islamic debt capital market, according to Simon Cooper, chief executive officer of HSBC Middle East.
“The continued growth in infrastructure investment is going to be the key theme in the region and that theme is going to be developed further as well into being an enabler… of capital markets,” said Cooper during the annual company presentation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

GEMS Education has successfully raised AED2bn ($544m) bank finance as part of its continuing investment in the education sector, it was announced on Sunday.
The facility has a tenor of six years and has Islamic and conventional tranches. The facility raised will be used to refinance its investment in schools made over the last three years and to provide additional funds for the investment in new schools in the UAE and wider MENA region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As Oman’s economy expands it will need the support of a growing financial sector to sustain the healthy growth rate and Islamic finance will add a new dimension, offering innovative options in this regard, according to Sohail Niazi, chief Islamic banking officer at Maisarah Islamic Banking Services, the newly established Islamic banking window of BankDhfoar.
Speaking at the official launch of the Maisarah branch in Azaiba on Wednesday, Niazi said that as Islamic banking gets established it will bring economic benefits to the people of the sultanate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

I have a long-standing aversion to banks. To me, they represent the perfect collision of two really bad ideas: i) Regular investment in bonds & loans – a strategy offering little prospect of capital gain, but which will (quite often) attempt to wipe out your capital. And the paltry yield you earn offers little compensation. I’ve never understood how people ever find this ridiculously biased risk/reward proposition attractive.
ii) The answer lies in leverage, I guess… Another terrible idea, but this is the incredible solution people usually seize upon to juice low returns. And it usually works just long enough for everybody to forget how savagely leverage can impact liquidity & solvency, when things take an inevitable turn for the worse………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Conventional banking is all about borrowing cheap and lending dear, yet Islamic banks also follow the same pattern: offering a return to their investment account holders – not much different from the market rate of interest – and charging very high (albeit market-driven) profits to households and businesses.
In Pakistan, a number of businesses have emerged, which are collecting investments informally from an increasing number of people, and offering them very lucrative and frequent returns. Such businesses are increasing in number and size, and it is interesting to look into this newly-emerging phenomenon………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Sohar’s total assets grew from OMR 1,559.28 million in 2012 to OMR 1,789.62 million, a growth of 14.8 per cent, according to a media statement.
Net Loans and advances grew by 9.4 per cent to OMR 1,155.56mn in comparison to OMR 1,055.8 million in 2012. A similar rise was seen in the bank’s deposits which stood at OMR 1,310.48 million by the end of March 2013, a growth of 10.03 per cent over last year. The total shareholder equity increased to OMR 157.23 million an increase of 23.6 per cent over last year. This figure also includes the rights issue of 10 million raised during the quarter for the Islamic Banking Window………………………………………..Full Article: Source

International Islamic (QIIB) has recorded a net profit of QR185.3m for the first quarter that ended on March 31, 2013. Announcing the Q1 results, bank Chairman and Managing Director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani said the first quarter net profit showed an increase of 5.6 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2012.
The results attest the fact that International Islamic improved its position, both in the local market and abroad. The bank has gained significantly from the Qatari economy, which is on an upswing thanks to the wise leadership and policies being pursued by the Emir and the Heir Apparent, he noted………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic banking and finance industry in the Middle East, especially in the UAE is witnessing stupendous growth, the just concluded 3rd Annual Middle East Islamic Finance and Investment Conference noted. The conference also revealed that the Middle East has been at the centre of Islamic finance activity and the region is viewed as one of the more mature markets.
Speaking to The Gulf Today, Dr Sayd Farook, Global Head Islamic Capital Markets at Thomson Reuters mentioned that the Islamic finance industry actually has immense potential to capitalise on the value that could be generated by identifying the full value chain in areas such as Halal food processing through a structured and well executed strategy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is reviewing the government’s recent measures on the Padma Bridge Project to take a decision on revival of its committed funding support for it. As part of the original deal, it was supposed to construct the approach road on the bridge’s Jajira side.
The government made earlier a request to the IDB to revive its funding support for the Padma Bridge project. The ministry of finance (MoF) sources said that the lending agency that was a co-financier for the Padma Bridge project as a member of the previously formed, but now non-functional, World Bank-led consortium, has expressed interest to meet the request of Bangladesh to revive its funding support for it………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CIMB Islamic has named Indonesia as the market with the most potential for its sharia banking due to the country’s large Muslim population, and is therefore, expecting the country to contribute 30 percent to overall business by 2015.
CIMB Islamic is the Islamic banking unit of the CIMB Group, the Malaysian-based bank franchise that provides both conventional and sharia banking services. CIMB Group operates in Indonesia through its local arm, CIMB Niaga, which similarly provides conventional services and Islamic banking services via CIMB Niaga Syariah…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bank Muscat, the flagship financial institution in the Sultanate, posted a net profit of RO 25 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to RO 33.4 million reported during the same period in 2012.
Announcing the preliminary Q1 results, the bank said an exceptional operating loss provision of RO 15 million relating to the Prepaid Travel Card fraud incident (as disclosed to the market on 25 and 26 February 2013) has been considered in the first quarter accounts in accordance with IFRS. The bank is working on various channels to recover the loss arising from this exposure, it added……………………………………Full Article: Source

Middle Eastern investment banking fees recorded $143.5m in Q1 2013, marking the best first quarter for fees in the region since 2008. In its investment banking analysis for the Middle East for the Q12013 released yesterday, Thomson Reuters noted the region’s first quarter fees of the investment banking recorded a 49 percent increase over the same period last year.
Year-on-Year fee increases were seen across asset classes. Completed M&A fees totaled $47.6m, up 81 percent from the first quarter of 2012 and accounting for 33 percent of the overall fee pool. Fees from debt capital markets underwriting in the region hit $44.1m, up 48 percent from the $29.8m seen during the first quarter of 2012…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Path Solutions, the application software and services company, has announced that Maisarah Islamic Banking Services, BankDhofar’s Islamic banking window successfully went live with iMAL Islamic core banking system on Monday 4 March 2013.
Sameh Al Zadjali, Senior Manager - IT, Maisarah commented, “We have worked closely with Path Solutions and have benefited from their experience and market-leading solutions. We are confident that by installing iMAL at the centre of our Islamic banking operations, we will reach our goal of becoming the best Islamic bank in the Sultanate, leader in innovation.”……………………………………Full Article: Source

Alizz Islamic Bank, the second full-fledged Islamic bank in Oman, plans to begin operations in the third quarter of this year, chief operating officer Jamal Darwiche said. Oman is the last country in the Gulf Cooperation Council to introduce Islamic finance; it granted licenses to Alizz Islamic Bank and Bank Nizwa late last year and rolled out detailed regulations in December.
“We are currently on track for the launch of our products and services during the third quarter of 2013,” Darwiche said. “We are taking a careful approach, gaining valuable market insight and further refining our products and service offering.”……………………………………Full Article: Source

Qatar Islamic Bank is seeking to increase its investment-banking presence in the Middle East and Asia amid the worst start to a year for Shariah-compliant loans since at least 2006.
Shariah institutions have the expertise and distribution networks to become lead advisers in the mould of Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co, Mohamed Azahari Kamil, chief executive officer of the lender’s Malaysian unit Asian Finance Bank Bhd, said in an April 9 interview. QIB is sending the head of its investment division, a former Goldman employee, to meet clients at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur on May 2………………………………………..Full Article: Source

New investment opportunities for foreign companies have come to the fore in Turkey with the announcements of the creation of new Islamic banks by the government. The nation’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan indicated that he gave directives to the two biggest state-owned banks – Ziraat Bank and the Halk Bankasi – to establish two new participation banks.
Muhammed Islami Onal, the economic counsellor of Turkey in Malaysia, said foreign investors can apply for new licences to start the new participation banks, adding that the investment should be no less than 30 million New Turkish liras or US$17 million (RM51.7 million)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Many Islamic bankers tend to believe that Muslims are using Islamic financial services because such services are offered to them; otherwise (according to them) customers are indifferent between Islamic and conventional products. This thinking may be partially true. It is certainly the case where Islamic banking is either non-existent or is insignificant in magnitude and proportion.
Once Islamic banking gathers a meaningful size (about 10% of the overall banking sector), Muslims choose Islamic banking, even if it happens to be slightly more expensive………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), exclusive financial sponsor of Global Village, concluded its participation in Global Village by organising a family-friendly treasure hunt aimed at enhancing financial literacy among the destination’s five million visitors.
Participants of the treasure hunt were tasked to search all 10 ADIB ATMs across Global Village for tips on saving and money management. Participants who answered correctly were entered into a raffle to win a trip for two to Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of HSBC Amanah Sukuk Fund and the Board of Directors of HSBC Amanah GCC Equity Income Fund have approved distribution of dividends.
The Board of HSBC Amanah Sukuk Fund approved a dividend payment of $0.06 per unit for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 translating in an annualized yield of 2.5% at par value. Similarly, the Board of HSBC Amanah GCC Equity Income Fund approved a dividend payment of SR0.25 per unit for the six months ending March 31, 2013 translating in an annualized yield of 5.0% on par value (Press Release)

Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, Meezan Bank Ltd, said it was looking for opportunities to set up an Islamic bank in India. “India and Pakistan have cross-cultural similarities and we think there is immense potential for Islamic banking here. We have been discussing this internally and if regulatory hurdles are cleared, we may set up a branch here,” Muhammad Raza, Executive Vice-President and Head-Consumer Banking, Meezan Bank, said.
Raza said his bank was also looking to open branches in Malaysia and the UK, among others………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The era of Islamic banking has finally arrived. India’s Minister for Minority Affairs K Rahman Khan recently said India could soon be implementing an Islamic banking system. This is a welcome move for all Indians in general and 250 million Indian Muslims in particular, who do not fully participate in the interest-based financial institutions because under the Sharia (Islamic law) any return on money employed should be linked with the profit of an enterprise.
Citing the example of 75 countries which have already adopted Islamic banking, the minister very cogently argued that India could no longer afford to stay away from the $1.5-trillion Islamic financial market, which could even help address the country’s huge fiscal deficit. Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said Rs 1.6 trillion ($27.8 billion) is lost annually due to lack of Shariah-compliant banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Uganda is amending a law that will usher in Islamic banking, allowing banks to sell Sharia-compliant financial products in the country. The country is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (IOC), but it its domestic legislation does not allow for the establishment of Islamic banking and finance.
The Ministry of Finance has been blamed for delaying the enactment of amendments to the Financial Institutions Act of 2004 which would provide for Islamic banking and finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alizz islamic bank SAOG, one of the first dedicated Islamic banks in Oman, announced the appointment of its Shariah Supervisory Board at the Bank’s second General Meeting held at the Capital Market Authority. His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad al Said, Chairman of the Board, Board Members, and a number of shareholders were in attendance.
The newly appointed Supervisory Board consists of Shaikh Dr Mohammed Abdul Rahim Sultan al Olama, Shaikh Dr Osama Mohammed Saad Bahar and Shaikh Nasser bin Yousef bin Nasser al Azri. These prominent Shariah scholars are qualified individuals who collectively bring a wealth of experience in jurisprudence, Islamic finance, research and banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank Group (DIB) announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013, registering strong growth across all areas of the bank. In the first three months of 2013, DIB reported a net profit of AED 301.7 million, compared to AED 258.5 million in the same period of 2012, an increase of 17 per cent.
DIB’s total assets in the first quarter of 2013 grew by a substantial 22 per cent to reach AED 120.6 billion, compared with AED 98.7 billion as at December 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2013, customer deposits stood at AED 88.3 billion, compared to AED 66.7 billion as at December 31, 2012, an increase of 32 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank has kicked off earnings season for commercial lenders with a sharp increase in net profits for the quarter, as investors bet on bumper profits for banks.
Bank shares have surged as banks repay government life support extended to cover the financial damage from the Dubai property crash of 2009. Money set aside by banks to cover bad loans is widely expected to have peaked………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain-headquartered global Islamic banking major, Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), announced the dividends distribution, to shareholders as of AGM date 19 March 2013, amounting to $69.3 million represent cash and stock dividends of the financial year 2012 as approved by shareholders in the Annual General Assembly.
The stock dividends amounting to $33.8 million, equal to 1 bonus share for every existing 30 shares (3.33% of issued capital) has been added to shareholders accounts, while Cash dividends amounting to $ 35.5 million equal to 3.5 Cent per share (3.5% of issued capital) will be paid value Monday 29 April 2013. The official Share Registrar (Fakhro Karvy) has been authorized to handle the distributions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Finance Ministry has approved a capital increase of Bt3 billion each for the stateowned Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank and Islamic Bank. The recapitalisation is to rehabilitate the two banks’ business and restructure their nonperforming loans, said permanent secratary Areepong Phuchaum Bhoochaoom.
There will be two phases to the move. The first phase will inject Bt550 million into SME Bank and Bt450 million into Islamic Bank this year. Next year, Bt2.45 billion will be injected into SME Bank and Bt2.55 billion into Islamic Bank, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

One of the great secrets of early Islam was the store that was set by justice and on fairness in commerce. It was significant that the spiritual revelations delivered to Muhammad promised a new way of doing things, a way that protected private individuals as well as businesses from being exploited by those with access to credit.
Of particular concern was the issue of the principles of lending money – a topic that appears repeatedly in the Koran………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bank of Jordan ( BOJ ) and Jordan Islamic Bank ’s ( JIB ) Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BB-’ and revised the Outlooks to Negative from Stable. The Short-term IDRs have been affirmed at ‘B’ and Viability Ratings (VRs) at ‘bb-’. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action commentary.
The rating action was driven by Fitch’s view of the increased risks faced by the Jordanian sovereign, stemming from the deteriorating regional political situation and its adverse impact on Jordan. The economic slowdown in Jordan is persisting and the country remains structurally vulnerable to external shocks, with public finances, external position and general economy all under pressure. (Press Release)

Path Solutions announced the successful Go Live of iMAL at Bank Al Muamelat Assahiha (BMS) in Mauritania in a record time of less than two months. The highly scalable infrastructure of Path Solutions ‘ iMAL Islamic banking and investment system along with the advanced project implementation methodology adopted by Path Solutions have enabled deployment time to shorten by one week, thus exceeding BMS’s expectations.
The flexible system structure, design and the customer-centric functionality in iMAL will allow the bank to quickly deploy new Islamic banking products and services to the market and expand into new regions at a rapid pace. (Press Release)

Dubai Investments plans to raise $300 million from the sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, investor meetings for which is expected to begin in May, the company’s chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.
The conglomerate, which has interests in several sectors including property and manufacturing, has picked Citigroup Inc , Nomura, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co to help arrange the transaction, Khalid bin Kalban said. “We start the roadshows in May. Our target is to raise $300 million,” Kalban said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) sold a $500 million five-year Islamic bond at tighter pricing than initially indicated due to strong demand for sharia-compliant debt from the Gulf Arab region. The sukuk, maturing in 2018, priced at par with a profit rate of 2.95 percent, at the lower end of the final guidance range of between 2.95 percent and 3 percent.
Islamic banks have stepped up sales of Shariah-compliant debt to meet their liquidity requirements and also to increase their capital reserves. Demand for the sukuk was high, and the order book was over $2 billion when the official guidance was released………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alizz islamic bank has announced that Malcolm Mckinnon, Deputy General Counsel of Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), has been appointed to the Bank’s Board of Directors.
Mckinnon, an experienced legal counsel, represents aabar Investments, one of the bank’s four founding promoters, and succeeds Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of aabar Investments. aabar is a subsidiary of IPIC………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The International Bank of Azerbaijan, the country’s biggest bank, has announced provision of new services to clients through the first and so far only “Islamic window” in Azerbaijan.
IBA, founded in January 1992 and 50.2 percent-owned by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Finance, holds a 35 percent share of banking assets in the country. It offers Sharia-compliant products through an Islamic window, which follow religious principles such as a ban on interest and on pure monetary speculation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ahlibank’s Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services has become one of the first Islamic bank’s in Oman to introduce a chip-based debit card for its customers.
The new Sharia-compliant debit card can be used worldwide for withdrawing cash as well as at merchant outlets Based on international banking standards, the Al Hilal debit card is tailored to meet the need of Islamic banking customers and has been developed in strict accordance with the values of the Islamic faith, a press release said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib) announced today that it had closed an Dhs302 million ($82m) syndicated Islamic financing deal for Emirates National Factory for Plastic Industries (ENPI), the UAE’s leading manufacturer of plastic packaging solutions and paper products.
This financing will be used in conjunction with ENPI’s recent acquisition of 100% share of ENPI Packaging Division by Saudi Printing & Packaging Company - a publicly listed Saudi company (SPPC), the largest publicly traded printing & packaging company in the region. The Technology Division of ENPI has spun-off and been carved-out in conjunction with the acquisition………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The outlook for Qatars banking system remains stable, unchanged since 2010, says Moodys Investors Service in a new report. The outlook reflects Qatar’s benign economic environment and the rating agency’s expectation that Qatari banks will maintain strong financial metrics, including low levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), robust earnings and sound capitalisation.
However, Moody’s says that these positive factors are counterbalanced by (1) an undiversified economy heavily reliant on the oil and gas sector; (2) the system’s relatively high dependence on short-term foreign funding; and (3) a still-developing corporate-governance and risk-management culture………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banks posted growth in their profits last year as the faith-based banking concept becomes entrenched in Kenya’s financial sector. There are two fully-fledged Islamic banks — Gulf African Bank and First Community Bank — which were established in 2007 after the Banking Act was amended to bring the unbanked population into the fold. The pair was able to break even in a fairly short time — Gulf African in two years and First Community in three years.
Last year, Gulf African registered 154 per cent after-tax profit growth to Sh242 million for the year ended December 31 compared to Sh95 million registered in similar period in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic Window established in the International Bank of Azerbaijan started to render services to the clients. Bank says the services include Rent, Islamic bank cards, and Hard Hasan accounts.
Head of IBA’s Islamic Banking Department Behnam Gurbanzadeh stated that those bank products were certificated at the Dar-al-Sharia financial-legal advisor company which was established by Dubai Islamic Bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Capital Intelligence, the international credit rating agency, announced that it has affirmed Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB)’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of ‘A’, which reflects the Bank’s strong Islamic banking franchise, evidenced by substantial growth in financings and customer deposits, a strong net financial income differential, and the Bank’s good capitalisation.
The FSR remains constrained by pressure on financing and investment asset quality, concentration risks, and weak performance on investments. Although at the current level the Bank’s weaker credit metrics would normally elicit a downward adjustment in the FSR, CI is of the opinion that new management has begun to place the bank on a better trajectory. (Press Release)

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Major Business Venture Developers Ebrahim Abdulaal Group (EAG) towards enabling finance for the purchase of properties developed at their Marina Reef Real Estate Development project.
The MOU was signed by Deputy General Manager - Commercial Banking of KHCB Mr. Fuad Taqi and Chairman of EAG Mr. Ebrahim Ali Abdulaal. Through this financing scheme, customers can avail finance solutions to purchase property at Marina Reef, which is a luxurious freehold development, located on the Reef Island, a man-made island built in the heart of Al Manama within the proximity of City Centre as well as the Seef shopping area………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mohamed Amiri, the acting chief executive of Ajman Bank, has quit the Islamic lender, three sources said on Monday. Mohammad Zaqout, previously executive vice president of personal banking at unlisted Al Hilal Bank, will be the new chief executive of Ajman Bank, an official at Al Hilal Bank said, confirming what one of the sources had said.
Press officials at Ajman Bank were not immediately available for comment. Ajman Bank shares fell 2.6 percent on the Dubai bourse by 0840 GMT. Its shares have risen 88 percent in the last one year on speculation that institutional investors were eyeing a stake in the bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

United Arab Emirates-based Islamic lender Ajman Bank, has hired Mohammad Zaqout as its new chief executive, following the resignation of its acting CEO.
Zaqout, executive vice president of personal banking at unlisted Al Hilal Bank, will start as CEO from April 21, subject to approval from the UAE Central Bank, Ajman Bank said in a filing to the Dubai Financial Market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The year 2012 was an exceptional one for Bank Sohar as it continued to evolve and make its mark on the banking and financial landscape of Oman. Building on the previous year’s outstanding performance, the bank garnered key gains in a number of core areas of its business in 2012 — the result of an unswerving focus on achieving sustainable growth.
Boosted by its strong operating performance, Bank Sohar registered an impressive net profit of RO 23.011 million for the year 2012 which translates to a growth of 58.73 per cent year-on-year; the highest percentage growth within the banking sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source