Back Custom print Link Text Only Rich Text Print

  • License Categories

    • LR-A.1.5

      Islamic bank licensees are divided into two sub-categories: Islamic retail bank licensees and Islamic wholesale bank licensees. Certain specific regulatory requirements may differ between these two sub-categories, where appropriate to address their different risk profiles.

    • LR-A.1.6

      Islamic retail bank licensees may undertake transactions in any currency, with both Bahraini residents and non-residents. To qualify as an Islamic retail bank licensee, the activity of offering Shari'a financing contracts must account for a significant portion of the institution's business (defined, broadly, as accounting for over 20% of an institution's assets).

    • LR-A.1.7

      Islamic wholesale bank licensees may also undertake transactions without restriction, when dealing with the Government of Bahrain and its agencies; BMA bank licensees; and non-residents. However, they may only undertake transactions denominated in Bahraini Dinar and/or with a resident of the Kingdom of Bahrain, if these are wholesale in nature. Wholesale transactions are defined in terms of transaction size (in summary, BD 7 million or more for the activities of taking Shari'a money placements/deposits, and offering Shari'a financing contracts, and US$ 250,000 or more for any of the other activities falling within the definition of regulated Islamic banking services).

    • LR-A.1.8

      Collectively, licensed providers of regulated Islamic banking services are called Islamic bank licensees. Bahrain-incorporated Islamic bank licensees are called Bahraini Islamic bank licensees. Islamic bank licensees that are incorporated in an overseas jurisdiction and operate via a branch presence in the Kingdom of Bahrain are called overseas Islamic bank licensees. The same naming convention applies to the two sub-categories of Islamic bank license: thus, Bahraini Islamic retail bank licensees and Bahraini Islamic wholesale bank licensees are those incorporated in Bahrain, whilst overseas Islamic retail bank licensees and overseas Islamic wholesale bank licensees are those incorporated in an overseas jurisdiction and operating in Bahrain via a branch presence.