Middle East Bank (MEB) is in the process of undertaking the necessary preparations required for its conversion to an Islamic Bank.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emirates Bank Ahmad Humaid Al-Tayer, which owns majority shares in MEB, said that MEB has obtained the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities to convert MEB to an Islamic Bank. He noted that the new Bank's capital will remain at 500 million Emirati dirhams ($136 million).
Al-Tayer added that the conversion process was approved at an MEB Board Meeting and has to be approved in MEB Extraordinary General Meeting which will be held on March 10 for approval by the shareholders. He clarified that the MEB Board approved the formation of an executive team of experts in Islamic Banking to commence the operational procedures for the Bank's conversion to an Islamic bank.
The team has actually begun formulating suitable plans, programs and mechanisms to execute the conversion plan that will involve the creation of a new corporate identity, name and logo for the new Islamic bank.
The Chairman expects the Islamic Bank to launch its offering of banking services during the second half of the current year. He mentioned that the Bank will offer a variety of Islamic retail as well corporate banking services in addition to Islamic investment services.
The new bank will have completely independent financial and administrative management. It will also offer its services in complete autonomy which will provide its customers with a fully integrated Islamic banking environment. Al-Tayer explained that the current nine MEB branches across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will all be converted to branches of the new Islamic Bank. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
