BMI 23 August 2006...  23rd August, 2006: In view of the growing importance of SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) sectors in the economic development of Bahrain, BankMuscat International (BMI) today announced the launch of a new business division to exclusively cater to the financial needs of SME's. The SME banking division will provide complete banking solutions including trade finance related needs, transaction / investment needs and borrowing needs.

Abbas Al Derazi Acting General Manager, BMI said

“Being a Bahraini bank, we are responsible to participate in and boost the local economic growth and consider the SME segment as a very crucial and increasingly important component in the country’s development. Given that the sector’s financial needs are currently not being met completely, we decided to launch a dedicated division for SMEs providing customized financial solutions. In our view SME is a unique segment that requires a great deal of understanding of their exact financial needs to be able to devise customized solutions.”

The SME Banking division will cater to all business segments of SME. The services offered will include trade finance products (letter of credit, bill discounting, trust receipts, etc.), loans (term loan, working capital etc.), current/call accounts, fixed deposits etc. BMI will take a new approach to evaluate SME businesses and instead of concentrating on the risk associated with this segment will evaluate current performance of developing businesses and calculate true funding and borrowing requirements within a context of mutual understanding and respect

“BMI is proud to be a catalyst in domestic economic growth with its lending facilities for small to medium business units. Our expert SME team can discuss such businesses at length with promoters and finance personnel in order to structure appropriate credit lines” said Niveen Shukrala Head SME banking

BMI currently offers its customers a range of retail products and services including Mortgage, Consumer and Vehicle Loans, Credit Cards, savings and current accounts, and certificates of deposit. In addition to retail banking, BMI offers Global Trade Services, Financial Institutions Group, International Operations, Corporate Banking, Islamic Financial Services, Private Banking and Treasury with plans to develop and introduce many new products in line with the bank’s regional expansion plan

BMI recently posted strong financial results announcing a net profit of USD 4.9 million (BD 1.9 million) for the first half ended 30 June 2006, an increase of 34% as compared to the corresponding period last year when the Bank recorded a net profit of USD 3.7 million (BD 1.4 million). Loans and Advances stood at USD 541 million (BD 204 million) as compared to USD 316 million (BD 119 million) at 30 June 2005. Total assets stood at USD 785 million (BD 296 million) and rose by 73% over the USD 455 million (BD 171 million) recorded at the end of June 2005. Return on Equity (ROE) stood at 15.04% while Earnings Per Share (EPS) was 0.49 cents (0.186 fils).