Arab Banking

Infobox Company
company_name = Arab Banking Corporation
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1980
location = ABC Tower, Bahrain
key_people = Muhammad Layas (Chairman)
industry = Banking
products = Corporate banking investment banking Islamic Banking Retail Banking Treasury
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
homepage = [http://www.arabbanking.com/ Official website]

Arab Banking Corporation was incorporated as a Bahrain joint stock company on January 17, 1980 through a special decree by the Amir of Bahrain. It obtained an offshore banking unit licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency on April 7, 1980, and began operations in the same month. It is headquartered at ABC Tower in the Diplomatic Area of Bahrain.

Background

One of the reasons for the bank's formation was the recognition that despite the established presence of Arab banks in international financial markets, they were restricted in the volume of their activities by their comparatively small capital structures.

As such, ABC was established with an authorised capital of US$1,000 million, of which US$750 million was issued and paid by April 1, 1981. The three original shareholders were the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Kuwait's Ministry of Finance (transferred to the Kuwait Investment Authority) and the Libyan Secretariat of Treasury (later the Central Bank of Libya). Each of these holding one-third of ABC's share capital until 1990. At the end of 1989, ABC's authorised capital was increased to US$1,500 million. In 1990, the bank listed its shares on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and Paris stock exchange (now Euronext) and increased its paid-up capital to US$1,000 million by a public offering in Bahrain and an international private placement.

Operations

Today, the bank has a network of branches, representative offices, subsidiaries and affiliates in over twenty one countries around the World, including most principal international financial centres such as London, New York, Bahrain,Sao Paolo, and Singapore. Its branch networks are situated in Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt,Tripoli,Paris,Grand Cayman ,Milan, Frankfurt, Madrid, Stockholm,Istanbul, Beirut, Abu Dhabi, Tehran,and Baghdad.

The bank provides a range of banking services and its branches focus principally on wholesale commercial and corporate banking, project & structured finance, treasury and trade finance services, while its subsidiaries concentrate on the domestic retail and corporate banking sectors. An Investment Banking division was established in 2006 which provides additional services in corporate finance, debt, capital markets, equity placement and direct equity trading.

External links

* [http://www.islamicbankinglaw.com Islamic Banking Law]
* [http://www.arabbanking.com/ ABC Official website (Global)]
* [http://www.alburaq.co.uk/ ABC International Bank plc (ABCIB), (London)]
* [http://www.arabbanking.com.dz/ ABC Algeria]
* [http://www.arabbanking.com.jo/ ABC Jordan]
* [http://www.arabbanking.com.eg/ ABC Egypt]
* [http://www.abcbrasil.com.br/ ABC Brasil]