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Highlights | Banking & Finance<br />
CBB launches Bahrain<br />
Fintech Bay<br />
H.E. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj<br />
Governor, CBB<br />
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB)<br />
recently announced a partnership<br />
officially endorsing the launch of<br />
Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB) and its<br />
Fintech initiatives in the Kingdom of<br />
Bahrain. The announcement is the most<br />
recent in a series of steps affirming<br />
the CBB’s commitment to developing<br />
Bahrain into a leader of Fintech<br />
innovation and investment in the GCC<br />
region.<br />
The CBB and its FinTech &<br />
Innovation Unit will work closely with<br />
the BFB to support the development<br />
of the Bahrain Fintech ecosystem and<br />
ensure the participation of financial<br />
institutions seeking to innovate and<br />
invest in Fintech. In addition, the CBB<br />
will work closely to support innovators<br />
at the BFB in providing access and<br />
guidance to its regulatory framework,<br />
including the Regulatory Sandbox.<br />
The BFB will be the first dedicated<br />
Fintech hub and corporate incubator<br />
in the Middle East & Africa region.<br />
It is located in the Arcapita building<br />
overlooking Bahrain Bay and with<br />
10,000 sq.ft. of state of the art facilities<br />
including co-working spaces, communal<br />
areas, workstations and other shared<br />
infrastructure. The hub is operated by<br />
Fintech Consortium, a global fintech<br />
ecosystem builder and operator. The BFB<br />
platform and offering is set to create<br />
ideal conditions to attract both local and<br />
international corporate innovation labs<br />
and FinTech start-ups to collaborate<br />
on developing, testing, scaling and<br />
deploying new technologies in Bahrain<br />
and the wider GCC region. The BFB will<br />
form part of a growing global network<br />
operated by the Fintech Consortium,<br />
comprising of Singapore, New York, and<br />
now, Bahrain.<br />
H.E. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj,<br />
Governor of the CBB said, “We are<br />
pleased to endorse Bahrain FinTech<br />
Bay and support its strategy towards<br />
positioning Bahrain as a regional leader<br />
in Fintech. Its launch complements our<br />
initiative to introduce a comprehensive<br />
regulatory framework for Fintech and<br />
to encourage its adoption by market<br />
participants as they look to prepare for<br />
the future.”<br />
Maissan Al Maskati, Chairman<br />
of FinTech Consortium Bahrain said,<br />
“We are delighted to receive this<br />
endorsement from the CBB and look<br />
forward to our partnership with the<br />
CBB’s Fintech Unit. We believe that close<br />
coordination on all matters pertaining<br />
to the development of new innovation<br />
will be important in promoting Bahrain’s<br />
advanced, robust and fintech friendly<br />
regulations to innovators globally.”<br />
ABG and BMCE<br />
launches BTI Bank in<br />
Partnership<br />
Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG),<br />
headquartered in Bahrain, and the<br />
Moroccan Bank for Foreign Commerce<br />
of Africa (BMCE Bank), one of Africa’s<br />
leading international banking groups,<br />
launch the new participation bank, BTI<br />
Bank (Bank al Tamweel wa Inma), with<br />
opening its headquarters in Casablanca.<br />
The establishment of this<br />
participation bank comes within<br />
the context of fulfilling the needs of<br />
the Moroccan market and placing<br />
the requirements of its customers<br />
and individuals at the heart of the<br />
Bank’s interests and priorities - by<br />
participating in the success of their<br />
projects through a mutually beneficial<br />
and equal partnership, while adhering<br />
to the highest professional standards as<br />
well as Shari’a values.<br />
As part of its efforts to be a real<br />
partner for all categories of customers,<br />
including individuals, companies,<br />
professionals and businesses alike,<br />
BTI Bank will rely on the integrated<br />
expertise of its founders. Al Baraka<br />
Banking Group has subsidiaries and<br />
representative offices in 15 countries<br />
and has over 40 years of experience in<br />
participation banking, as well as the<br />
experience of the Moroccan Bank for<br />
Foreign Commerce of Africa, which<br />
has a comprehensive banking model<br />
covering all Banking and finance fields<br />
and activities.<br />
BTI Bank is committed to<br />
developing tangible and practical<br />
solutions to the financing and<br />
investment needs of the Moroccan<br />
market and to offer a variety of products<br />
and services that meet the needs<br />
and requirement of all its customers.<br />
With this, individuals will benefit<br />
from a wide range of bank accounts<br />
and cards, as well as receive financial<br />
solutions for buying property, vehicles<br />
and equipment, apart from ofcourse,<br />
savings accounts and deposits. As<br />
for professionals, contractors, and<br />
businesses, they will benefit from<br />
carefully designed services to meet<br />
their needs with ease and flexibility,<br />
in addition to the bank’s expertise to<br />
arrange financing deals and structured<br />
deals.<br />
BTI Bank aspires to create real<br />
partnerships with its clients, allowing<br />
the Bank and each of its clients to<br />
contribute to the development of<br />
society, and also to be a partner in<br />
achieving the success and aspirations<br />
of each one of them.<br />
56 January-February <strong>2018</strong>
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