Bahrain

The pandemic didn’t knock Bahrain’s fastest-growing bank, Al Salam Bank Bahrain, off course. With chief executive Rafik Nayed in the hot seat, the bank increased its market share across all businesses, particularly customer deposits and financing facilities, in 2020.

Over the last 37 years, Bahrain Bay-based Al Baraka Islamic Bank has built a strong presence in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey. All told, it has a presence in 17 countries – with a total population of 1 billion people – and provides services through more than 700 branches.

When GFH Financial Group tells shareholders its business is rising to new heights, it’s not meant as a cheesy pun. The reference is to last year’s unveiling of the Harbour Heights brand that the 22-year-old institution hopes will drive further growth.

National Bank of Bahrain is a bank on the rise. Under chief executive Jean-Christophe Durand, it has been transformed from a safe, middle-of-the-road lender into a digital leader. Technological change and innovation is now at the heart of everything National Bank of Bahrain does.

Standard Chartered has been in Bahrain longer than in any other market in the region, having established its first branch in the Kingdom in 1920. Its ties and connections to the business community make it the obvious first point of call to Asian companies as they expand into the region – and to local firms looking to export to Asia.