MANAMA: Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) has received the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) approval to extend the existing board’s term by six months.
This was announced after ordinary and extraordinary general meetings held yesterday with a quorum of 77.23 per cent.
The approval was sought as the secret voting process could not be held electronically. Therefore, the clause to nominate/appoint 10 new board members for the next three years has been removed.
The meetings were chaired by board member Hisham Alrayes in the presence of KHCB CEO Sattam Algosaibi.
Shareholders have approved the financial statements for the financial year ended 2019.
In addition, shareholders agreed to delisting of the bank’s shares on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and the appointment of a market maker, utilising no more than 3pc of the bank’s total shares issued.
The recommendation of the board to reduce the issued and paid capital from BD105,000,000 distributed into 1,050,000,000 shares with a par value of 100 fils per share, to BD89,211,948 distributed into 892,119,480 shares with a par value of 100 fils per share through the write-off of accumulated losses worth BD15,788,052, was also approved.
The issuance of Sukuk as additional tier 1 capital of up to $200 million to support the capital base has also been given the nod.
Mr Alrayes said, “The bank has succeeded in reporting stable financial and operational results, owing to business plans that depend on providing innovative financial solutions, keeping pace with the rapid changes taking place in the market and meeting client requirements in the individual and corporate sectors.
“Raising the capital will have a positive impact on the bank’s operations and operational performance, with our ability to further support commercial activities, as well as promoting growth through disposal of non-yielding assets, entering into larger projects, lowering the cost of financing, and strengthening capital adequacy,” Mr Alrayes added.
Commenting, Mr Algosaibi said, “In accordance with the directives issued by the CBB, we launched a package of procedures and facilities for our clients to ensure that they are not affected by this crisis. The package includes postponing finance instalments to all citizens for a period of six months with no charges and profits, raising the limits on credit cards, as well as supporting companies and SMEs by providing special facilities.”
He added, “The main pillars of our new strategy revolve around building more strategic relationships with our business partners in order to enter joint projects.
“We are also working to launch a set of specially designed products and services for individuals. We will also be opening new branches after completing the re-evaluation of our current branch network and electronic distribution channels. The bank will continue to invest in developing electronic banking.”
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