Ghazi Abdul-Jawad to leave Gulf International Bank

29 November 1996
FINANCE

Ghazi Abdul-Jawad has announced his decision to resign as general manager of Gulf International Bank (GIB). It is the second resignation of a top executive of a Bahrain-based commercial bank, following the decision of Arab Banking Corporation president and chief executive Ahmed Abdullatif to step down from his post in March 1997.

A GIB statement issued on 20 November said Abdul-Jawad is expected to leave the bank in the first quarter of 1997. It said the bank's board is at an advanced stage in the process of finding a successor. Abdul-Jawad joined the bank in 1984, and has held his present post since 1985. The GIB statement paid tribute to his leadership skills and his pursuit of excellence.

Shortly before announcing his resignation, Abdul-Jawad indicated that the bank is likely to make good profits this year, though it may be impacted by provisions. He did not specify if there were particular exposures to be covered against this year, but emphasised the cautious character of the bank's provisioning policy in general. 'In terms of year-to-date profitability, we're doing extremely well. We're running substantially above budget, but the final result will be impacted by how much we take into provisions,' he said on 17 November.

He also said the bank is considering setting up its own Islamic banking subsidiary with a separate capital base. 'We are at the stage now of selecting a Sharia advisory board. Into 1997, we'll be commissioning a study on the economic feasibility of having a stand-alone Islamic subsidiary,' he said. Price Waterhouse has been chosen to carry out the study.

GIB is owned by Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), which is based in Kuwait, and owned by the Gulf Arab states. GIB focuses on corporate, trade and project finance while GIC carries out investment banking activities. At the end of 1995, GIB had assets of $8,433 million.

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