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  • BR-5.1 BR-5.1 All licensed banks

    • BR-5.1.1

      The content of this section is applicable to all banks (licensed by the Agency) in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

    • Large exposures

      • BR-5.1.2

        Should any bank find that, for reasons outside its control or otherwise, it has an exposure to an individual counterparty (other than an exempt exposure) which results in it exceeding any of the limits set out under Chapter CM-5, this should be reported immediately to the Agency for its consideration, and action should be taken immediately to bring the exposure back within applicable limits as soon as possible.

    • Changes in strategy and/or corporate plan

      • BR-5.1.3

        All banks should notify the Agency, in writing, of all major changes (regardless of type and/or effect), including the establishment of branches, subsidiaries, SPVs and cross-border presences (see HC-1.5 for full text) to strategy or corporate plan prior to implementation.

    • Current management and changes thereto

      • BR-5.1.4

        All banks should, on a continuous basis, keep the Agency informed, in writing, of the senior management positions held by relevant persons (including General Managers, Deputy General Managers and other senior persons). Such notification should include the following information:

        (a) Full Name (and CPR for Bahrain resident management);
        (b) Contact details including address and emergency phone no;
        (c) Date of birth;
        (d) Place of birth (including town etc.);
        (e) Nationality;
        (f) Professional qualifications (by educational establishment and dates); and
        (g) Career details over the last ten years (with your institution or elsewhere).

      • BR-5.1.5

        The Agency should also be notified of any changes to the positions mentioned under paragraph BR-5.1.4 that may occur from time to time subject to observing the requirements set out in section HC-1.3.

      • BR-5.1.6

        For detailed rules and guidance on prior notification of appointment and changes in management inventory, refer to chapter HC-1 and HC-2.

    • Changes in dealing staff

      • BR-5.1.7

        All banks should notify the Agency of the following events, within 21 days of their occurrence:

        (a) the appointment of a dealer, including promotion to Head of a Dealing function. The information provided should include details as set out under section HC-2.1.
        (b) the resignation, suspension, dismissal or departure from your institution for whatever reason of a dealer (including his/her transfer to other duties within your institution). The information provided should include details as set out under section HC-2.1.

    • Appointment of a Compliance Manager/Officer

      • BR-5.1.8

        All banks must notify the Agency of the appointment of a compliance manager/officer (refer to section HC-3.2), and must submit the appointee's Curriculum Vitae to the Agency. The Agency's approval must be received by the bank before the appointment becomes final. The bank should also outline how the compliance function fits into the bank's senior management reporting structure, and should give details of relevant reporting lines within the bank.

    • Money laundering and suspicious transactions

      • BR-5.1.9

        The Money Laundering Reporting Officer (or his/her duly authorised delegate) must send a report to the Compliance Directorate of the BMA where he/she knows or has suspicions that a transaction might involve money laundering or terrorist financing, either due to the customer's economic standing or because it meets one of the examples of suspicious transactions described in Appendix FC 3.

    • Promotion of financial products and services offered in/from Bahrain by mean of incentives etc.

      • BR-5.1.10

        The Agency should be sent copies of documentation relating to promotional schemes at least ten days prior to their launch for information purposes. Refer to chapter BC-1 for more details.

    • Authorised signatories

      • BR-5.1.11

        In order to maintain an up-to-date record of authorised signatories of respective banks, the Agency requires all banks to submit to it a list of specimen signatures (and changes to it from time to time) of the officials authorised to sign on behalf of the concerned bank.

    • UN SCR 1373 (2001)

      • BR-5.1.12

        The Agency requires all banks to notify it immediately of any act that might contravene the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001). Banks should refer to chapter FC-8 for full details of this requirement.

    • Notification of fraud or other material concerns

      • BR-5.1.13

        All banks must report immediately to the Agency any frauds, either attempted or realised, or any well-founded concerns about the integrity of individual Directors or members of management. This obligation to disclose extends to individual Board members and members of management: i.e. if a Director or member of management has reasonable grounds to believe that information that should have been reported to the Agency has not, then they have a duty to report the matter personally to the Agency. All such cases shall be treated in the strictest confidence by the Agency.

      • BR-5.1.14

        All banks must report immediately to the Agency any material losses as soon as the bank becomes aware of them. This notification requirement is separate from notifications for loan write-offs (see BR-5.2.3) or frauds (see above), but refers to losses caused by external events (e.g. falls in stock markets) or internal control failures. In this context "material" would mean: a loss which exceeds 5% of net earnings in a given quarter; or a loss which reduces the bank's capital adequacy by more than 1%; or a loss which reduces total assets by more than 1%.

    • Accounts for charity organisations

      • BR-5.1.15

        All banks, referred to under paragraph BR-5.1.1, should notify the Agency of any transfer of funds amounting to BD 3,000 or above (or equivalent in other currencies) from accounts held by the bank for charitable organisations registered in the Kingdom of Bahrain (also see section FC-1.6). Such notification should include details of amount transferred, account name and number, and beneficiary (name and location).