Arab Banking Corporation (also called Bank ABC) is an international bank with headquarters in the Diplomatic Area of Manama, Bahrain. It was incorporated as a joint stock company in 1980 through a special decree by the Amir of Bahrain. It obtained an offshore banking unit licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency on 7 April 1980, and began operations in the same month. The bank is listed on the Bahrain Bourse and its major shareholders are the Central Bank of Libya (59.37%) and Kuwait Investment Authority (40.63%). Its network spreads across 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, the Americas and Asia. It is expanding its retail banking network in the MENA region.
Bank ABC is a provider of trade finance, treasury, project and structured finance, syndication, corporate and institutional banking as well as Islamic banking services.
History
By April 1981, US$750 million had been fully paid by Bank ABC's original three shareholders: the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait (whose shares have since been transferred to the Kuwait Investment Authority), the Libyan Secretariat of Treasury (whose shares were later transferred to the Central Bank of Libya) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. At the end of 1989, ABC's authorised share capital was increased to US$1.50 billion and in June 1990, paid-up capital was raised to US$1.00 billion through an international share offering. In June 2006, ABC's shares were split 10 for 1 in order to boost trading activities by placing them in the same range as other shares quoted on the Bahrain Bourse.