Central Bank of Bahrain

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is the Kingdom of Bahrain’s central bank and principal financial-services regulator. It is a public corporate entity established under Decree No. 64 of 2006, which promulgated the Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law. The institution formally replaced the Bahrain Monetary Agency and began operating within the modern statutory framework on 6 September 2006. Its headquarters are in the Diplomatic Area of Manama. The CBB combines conventional central-bank responsibilities with broad financial-sector supervisory functions. It formulates and implements monetary policy, manages Bahrain’s official foreign-currency, cash, and gold reserves, and acts as the government’s fiscal agent. It also supervises and regulates banks, insurance companies, investment businesses, capital-market participants, finance companies, and other financial institutions operating under Bahrain’s regulatory perimeter. Through this mandate, the bank is responsible not only for monetary and financial stability but also for maintaining confidence in Bahrain’s financial system. The institution’s history reaches back before its 2006 legal formation. In 1965, Bahrain created a Currency Board to support the country’s currency arrangements. Following independence from the United Kingdom, the Bahrain Monetary Agency was established in 1973 and assumed central monetary and banking functions. The CBB succeeded that agency in 2006, expanding the statutory basis for financial supervision and central-bank operations. A further part of the CBB’s institutional role is supporting Bahrain’s position as an international financial centre. It develops regulatory rules, licenses financial institutions, monitors compliance, and works with market participants on the evolution of financial services. The bank has also introduced frameworks for newer activities, including equity-based and financing-based crowdfunding. In April 2022, it announced rules for crowdfunding platform operators through Module CFP in Volume 5 of the CBB Rulebook, covering ancillary service providers. The CBB is also associated with Bahrain’s monetary heritage. Its premises include a coin and currency museum whose collections include material dating back to 653 AD. The governor of the CBB chairs the board of directors of Bahrain Bourse, linking the central bank’s institutional leadership with the governance of the country’s principal securities market. As a public monetary authority rather than a commercial bank, the CBB does not market ordinary deposit, lending, or payment products to consumers; its principal offerings are regulatory, monetary, settlement, and institutional services.

Bahrain’s modern central-banking structure developed in stages. A Currency Board was established in 1965 to support the country’s monetary arrangements. After Bahrain gained independence from the United Kingdom, the Bahrain Monetary Agency was created in 1973 and took on responsibilities associated with currency management, monetary administration, and banking oversight. The institutional framework was significantly revised in 2006. Decree No. 64 of 2006 promulgated the Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law and established the Central Bank of Bahrain on 6 September 2006. The CBB replaced the Bahrain Monetary Agency and received a broader statutory mandate covering central banking and the regulation of financial institutions. The new structure reflected Bahrain’s ambition to maintain and develop its role as an international financial centre while strengthening supervision across the financial sector. The CBB’s mandate includes implementing monetary policy, managing the Kingdom’s official foreign-currency, cash, and gold reserves, and acting as the government’s fiscal agent. It also supervises banks, insurance businesses, investment firms, and other regulated financial-services providers. This integrated role gives the institution responsibility for both macroeconomic monetary functions and the prudential and conduct framework governing financial markets. The bank is headquartered in the Diplomatic Area of Manama. In addition to its regulatory and monetary work, it houses a coin and currency museum with collections that reach back to 653 AD, connecting the modern institution with Bahrain’s long monetary history. During the 2010s, the CBB continued to address the development of Bahrain’s financial-services industries. In 2014, Governor Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj highlighted the need for cooperation between the regulator and the insurance market, while also stressing the responsibilities of insurance companies toward society. The governor also serves as chair of the board of directors of Bahrain Bourse, reflecting the CBB’s relationship with the country’s securities-market infrastructure. The bank’s regulatory agenda later expanded to newer financial models. On 29 April 2022, it announced rules for equity-based and financing-based crowdfunding. These requirements were placed in Module CFP, the Crowdfunding Platform Operators module, within Volume 5, Type 7, concerning ancillary service providers in the CBB Rulebook. The initiative provided a formal regulatory framework for a growing category of financial platforms. Leadership of the institution changed in February 2024, when Khalid Humaidan became governor after Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, who had held the post from January 2005 until February 2024. Earlier governors included Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, and Abdullah Hassan Saif. The CBB remains Bahrain’s central monetary authority and the country’s principal regulator for banking and a wide range of financial services.

• 2024

  Governor changes

  [1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Khalid Humaidan became governor, succeeding Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj.

• 2022

  Crowdfunding regulation introduced

  [1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  The CBB announced regulatory requirements for equity-based and financing-based crowdfunding platforms under Module CFP of its Rulebook.

• 2006

  Central Bank of Bahrain established

  [1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Decree No. 64 of 2006 created the CBB under the Central Bank of Bahrain and Financial Institutions Law, replacing the Bahrain Monetary Agency.

• 1973

  Bahrain Monetary Agency established

  [1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Following independence, the Bahrain Monetary Agency replaced the Currency Board and assumed expanded monetary and banking responsibilities.

• 1965

  Bahrain Currency Board established

  [1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Bahrain created a Currency Board to support the country’s currency and monetary arrangements.

Bahrain’s statutory central bank and integrated regulator for monetary affairs and financial services.

• Central banking · 2006

  Monetary policy

  The CBB formulates and implements Bahrain’s monetary policy. This function supports monetary and financial stability and forms the core central-bank activity of the institution. Unlike a commercial bank, the CBB delivers policy and market infrastructure rather than consumer banking products.

• Currency management · 2006

  Currency and reserve management

  The bank manages Bahrain’s official foreign-currency, cash, and gold reserves and performs functions connected with the Kingdom’s currency. These responsibilities support confidence in the national monetary system and provide the government with institutional reserve-management capabilities.

• Financial regulation · 2006

  Financial-institution supervision

  The CBB licenses, supervises, and regulates banks, insurance businesses, investment firms, and other financial-services providers. Its supervisory role is intended to promote sound institutions, orderly markets, consumer protection, and overall financial stability.

• Fintech regulation · 2022

  Crowdfunding Platform Operators framework

  Introduced through Module CFP in Volume 5 of the CBB Rulebook, this framework covers operators of equity-based and financing-based crowdfunding platforms. It places these activities within Bahrain’s regulated financial-services architecture.

• 2022

  Regulation of equity and financing crowdfundingStrategy

  Background

  The emergence of crowdfunding platforms created a need for rules covering both equity-based and financing-based models within Bahrain’s financial-services regulatory system.

  Action taken

  The CBB announced regulatory requirements through Module CFP, the Crowdfunding Platform Operators module, in Volume 5, Type 7, of its Rulebook.

  Aftermath

  The measure established a formal supervisory framework for qualifying crowdfunding-platform operators in Bahrain.

  Source

• 2014

  Support for insurance-sector developmentStrategy

  Background

  The CBB identified cooperation with the insurance market as important to the continued development of Bahrain’s insurance sector.

  Action taken

  Governor Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj called for closer regulator-industry cooperation and emphasized insurers’ social-responsibility obligations.

  Aftermath

  The position reinforced the CBB’s role in promoting a sustainable and socially responsible insurance market.

  Source

• 2024

  Khalid Humaidan becomes governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain[1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Khalid Humaidan succeeded Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj as governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

• 2022

  Central Bank of Bahrain introduces crowdfunding-platform rules[1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Product launch

  The CBB announced rules covering equity-based and financing-based crowdfunding through a dedicated Crowdfunding Platform Operators module in Volume 5 of its Rulebook.

• 2014

  Central Bank governor discusses development of Bahrain’s insurance sector[1]Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation

  Governor Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj emphasized cooperation between the CBB and the insurance market, sector development, and insurers’ social-responsibility obligations.

1. 1Central Bank of Bahrainen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Central Bank of Bahrain official websitecbb.gov.bh