Bahrain’s Ithmaar Bank has appointed Mohammed Bucheerei, a member of the bank’s board of directors, as its new chief executive.  

Bucheerei is tasked with concluding the lender’s transformation into a retail bank and finding new growth areas.

In April, Ithmaar announced it was converting itself into an Islamic retail-focused bank by integrating its fully-owned unit Shamil Bank.

This is in line with other Bahraini investment houses who have been hit by a freeze in regional investments markets. The bank has posted losses since the third quarter of 2008.

Bucheerei previously worked as general manager of the private office of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed al-Saud, chairman of Ithmaar’s major shareholder DMI Trust, which owns about 40 per cent of the bank.

Mohamed Hussain, who has served as the bank’s acting chief executive since April, will continue to serve on the boards of some of the bank’s strategic investments.

Faisal al-Alwan, the former head of Shamil Bank has now left.