DUBAI: Bahrain’s Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank, an affiliate of Oman’s Bank Muscat, have announced plans to merge, a tie-up which would create the kingdom’s third-largest bank by assets, the lenders said in a statement.
A committee has been created by the two banks to administer the merger process, which would create a bank with assets of around BD1.7bn ($4.5bn).
The merger will involve a share swap, with the final ratio yet to be decided, a separate statement from Bank Muscat said.
The proposed merger, which has the assent of both boards but still needs shareholder and regulatory approval, is the latest example of consolidation in the Bahraini banking system.
Mergers among Bahraini lenders have been encouraged by the country’s central bank, especially among smaller Islamic banks hit hard by a local real estate crisis and political uprisings in the tiny Island nation. Reuters
