Market Report, "Bahrain Commercial Banking Report Q2 2011", published

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr. 30, 2011 - Following a weak 2010, our core view is for the recovery in Bahrain's banking sector to pick up steam in  2011. That said, the industry's overexposure to the construction and real estate sectors, for which the  outlooks are less than inspiring, will continue to hold back a more pronounced rebound in profitability in  the short term. The domestic Islamic banking sector will likely underperform its conventional retail  counterparts, in our view, as the lack of asset diversification options holds back the recovery even further.  Bahrain's banking sector appears to be tentatively regaining its footing, with data from the central bank  showing asset growth beginning to recover in the latter months of 2010. According to the November  Statistical Bulletin published by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), aggregate assets throughout the  domestic banking sector increased by 12.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October 2010, coming in at  BHD24.3bn and marking the fastest rate of expansion since April 2009. This was driven largely by an  improvement in loan growth (loans account for approximately 27% of banking sector assets), with the  total stock of loans outstanding up by 9.1% y-o-y in October. Banks' bond portfolios also continued to  steadily increase through Q310, expanding by 60.8% y-o-y through October, as banks favoured shifting  their assets into treasury markets rather than aggressively increasing lending activities. This helped push  up bonds' share of total banking sector assets to 4.8% by October, compared to a multi-year low of 1.7%  in November 2008.    A key factor helping to support underlying stability has been the ongoing uptrend in oil prices, with Brent  Crude going above US$90.00 per barrel (bbl) by the end of 2010. As the chart below highlights, there is a  distinct correlation between oil prices and deposit growth in the Bahraini banking sector. As a result, it is  unsurprising that deposit growth surged higher in Q310 (along with a rise in the price of Brent Crude oil  from US$72.34/bbl at the start of H210 to US$84.62/bbl four months later), increasing by 13.4% during  October. With oil prices likely to remain well supported throughout 2011, we have an optimistic outlook  for deposit growth over the coming year, which we forecast to expand by 12.0% by the end of 2011.

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Report Table of Contents:

Executive Summary
- Table: Levels (BHDbn)
- Table: Levels (US$bn)
- Table: Levels At January 2011
- Table: Annual Growth Rate Projections 2011-2015 (%)
- Table: Ranking Out Of 59 Countries Reviewed In 2011
- Table: Projected Levels (BHDbn)
- Table: Projected Levels (US$bn)
SWOT Analysis
- Bahrain Commercial Banking SWOT
- Bahrain Political SWOT
- Bahrain Economic SWOT
- Bahrain Business Environment SWOT
Business Environment Outlook
- Commercial Banking Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Bahrain's Commercial Banking Business Environment Rating
- Commercial Banking Business Environment Rating Methodology
- Table: Middle East And Africa Commercial Banking Business Environment Ratings
Global Commercial Banking Outlook
- Regional Outlooks
- Mergers And Acquisitions Outlook For Banks
Middle East Banking Sector Outlook
- Table: Banks' Bond Portfolios, 2009
- Table: Middle East And Africa Commercial Banking Business Environment Ratings
- Table: Comparison Of Loan/Deposit, Loan/Asset And Loan/GDP Ratios
- Table: Anticipated Developments In 2011
- Table: Comparison Of Total Assets, Client Loans And Client Deposits, 2009-2010 (US$bn)
- Table: Comparison Of Per Capita Deposits, 2010e (US$)
- Table: Interbank Rates And Bond Yields, 2010-2011
Islamic Banking Sector Outlook
Bahrain Banking Sector Outlook
Economic Outlook
- Table: Bahrain Economic Activity, 2008-2015
Competitive Landscape
- Market Structure
- Protagonists
- Table: Protagonists In Bahrain's Commercial Banking Sector
- Definition Of The Commercial Banking Universe
- List Of Banks
- Table: Bank Licensees In Bahrain
Company Profiles
- Arab Bank
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- Gulf International Bank
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- Ahli United Bank
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- Arab Banking Corporation
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- National Bank of Bahrain
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (BHDmn, unless stated)
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- BBK
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (BHDmn, unless stated)
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
- Khaleeji Commercial Bank
- Table: Stock Market Indicators
- Table: Balance Sheet (BHDmn, unless stated)
- Table: Balance Sheet (US$mn, unless stated)
- Table: Key Ratios (%)
BMI Banking Sector Methodology
- Commercial Bank Business Environment Rating
- Table: Commercial Banking Business Environment Indicators And Rationale
- Table: Weighting Of Indicators

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.