BAB Board of Directors holds first meeting

Manama, Apr. 17 (BNA): The Board of Directors of the Bahrain Association of Banks held its first meeting on Thursday 13 April 2017 at Al Baraka Banking Group headquarters in Bahrain Bay. At the beginning of the meeting, the P&CE of Al Baraka Banking Group, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, was acclaimed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association and CEO of Ithmaar Bank, Mr. Ahmed Abdulrahim as Deputy Chairman . Then, the items on the Agenda of the meeting were discussed, were at the beginning the resolutions issued by the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Assembly of the Association held on March 27, concerning the determination of external auditors' fees for the fiscal year 2017 and following up on obtaining official approvals for amendments on the Articles of Association were reviewed. The members discussed the formation of the permanent committees of the Association, each of which will specialize in a vital topic related to the work of the banks in Bahrain, in order to assist the Board of Directors in carrying out its various tasks professionally, in addition to expanding the participation base and the Board of Directors’ keenness to benefit from the various experience of the members and staff of banks in Bahrain. After extensive discussions, it was decided to form the following committees and appoint their chairmen from within and outside the Board of Directors: Risk Management Committee, Banking Products Committee, Human Resources Committee, Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility Committee, Information Technology Committee, Islamic Banking Committee, International Standards Committee, and Legal and Supervisory Affairs Committee. It was also decided to assign each head of the committee to contact the member banks and institutions with a view to forming the membership of the committee through the management of the association. The meeting also approved the tasks and terms of reference of these committees. After that, Dr. Wahid Al Qassem, the CEO of the Association presented the business plan of the association during the next phase, which will focus on several axes, including expanding the membership base, strengthening the relationship with the members of the Association and with the concerned governmental bodies in the Kingdom of Bahrain, including CBB, as well as strengthening the relations of the Association at the Gulf, Arab and international levels, follow up on the formation of the permanent committees, organizing events and conferences and research related to banking activities in Bahrain, as well as strengthening the presence and role of the Association in the community. Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif said: "At the outset, I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to my dear brothers the members of the Board of Directors for putting their trust in me as Chairman of the Association and also like to congratulate my dear brother Mr. Ahmed Abdulrahim for his election as Deputy Chairman. Our first meeting today considers good and successful start to carry out our tasks as a one team to push forward the Association to promote all its banking and development tasks in the best way, as the adoption of the permanent committees and the business plan of the Association will form together a bridge to achieve these goals". For his part, Dr. Wahid Al Qassim, CEO of the Association, said: "We, as an executive team of the Association, look forward to working with the new Board of Directors, which is ready to provide all the support and assistance to us to perform our duties in serving the banking community in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and through this, we can support sustainable development programs to promote the development and prosperity of the Kingdom's economy.