CEO Today Middle East Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 14 CEO Today Middle East Awards 2019 bahrain ADNAN AHMED YOUSIF CEO of Al Baraka Banking Group FIRM PROFILE Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (“ABG”) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and NasdaqDubai. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion. It is rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) by Islamic International Rating Agency and BB (long term) / B (short term) by Standard & Poor’s. ABG and its Units offer retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari’a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$ 2.5 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 17 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 695 branches. Al Baraka Banking Group has operations in Jordan, Egypt Tunis, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and Germany in addition to one branch in Iraq and two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya. For more information about Al Baraka subsidiary banking units in 16 countries, you can visit the subsidiary country in the Global Network section, you can also use the E-Network which is recently launched and can locate Al Baraka spread worldwide using Google maps (e-network.albaraka.com ) Strategy Although the Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG or the Group) is about 10 years old, its antecedents go back almost 36 years - when one of the oldest Islamic banks in the world, Jordan Islamic Bank was formed in 1978. The Group came about as a result of a consolidation of various interests of Shaikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel in 10 Islamic banks, with the object of adding strength and purpose to his vision of creating a global Islamic banking group. Following its establishment in 2002, and having established a strong centralized corporate governance and management infrastructure, the Group achieved in 2006 a combined private placement and public issue, designed to bring its name to the attention of investors and the market at large and to raise additional capital to strengthen its subsidiaries and position them for expansion in their home territories, as well as to enable the Group to commence its wider geographical expansion. The successful flotation on the Nasdaq Dubai Stock Exchange and the Bahrain Bourse set the stage as a precursor to further expansion worldwide. Since 2006, Al Baraka Banking Group has witnessed an impressive and steady growth- even through the recent crises of a few years- strengthening its presence in its existing markets through organic development as well as venturing into new markets such as Indonesia and Libya by way of representative offices as a prelude to further expansion. The Group established a strong presence in Syria by commencing retail operations ABOUT ADNAN AHMED YOUSIF Mr. Yousif has more than 40 years’ international banking experience. He has been a Director of ABG since inception and the President & Chief Executive since August 2004. He is the Chairman of Jordan Islamic Bank, Banque Al Baraka D’Algerie, Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, Al Baraka Bank Ltd., South Africa, Al Baraka Bank Egypt, Al Baraka Bank Lebanon, Al Baraka Bank Syria, Al Baraka Bank Sudan and Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd, Vice Chairman of Al Baraka Islamic Bank, Bahrain and Director of Al Baraka Bank Tunisia and Itqan Capital. Mr. Yousif holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hull, UK. www.albaraka.com under the name Al Baraka Bank Syria, and enhanced the capital resources of Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank in 2007 followed by a sukuk issue and a syndicated morabaha financing that served to give it considerable impetus for business growth. The operations in Pakistan saw a substantial increase when Emirates Global Islamic Bank was acquired in 2010. Based on an edifice of a strong strategy and governance culture, Al Baraka Banking Group has over the years established for itself niches in key markets that are non-correlative and therefore present it with a natural risk diversification, a phenomenon that few banks in the region possess. With group strategic direction and management being articulated at the group headquarters in Bahrain, the individual components of the Group have all developed into significant contributors to its overall success. The brand of Al Baraka was introduced in its present form in 2009 - 2010, to be welcomed well by the markets and resulted in a new, stronger position across the world. “Partnership” is one of the key drivers of our business ethos that is well-embodied in our vision which is ‘We believe society needs a fair and equitable financial system: one which rewards effort and contributes to the development of the community’ Our approach is to serve society and engage in business in a socially responsible manner that serves the needs of the community at large while at the same time adhering to the ethical principles of the Sharia which is aptly described in our mission statement as follows