Al Baraka Banking Group Explained

Al Baraka Group
Type:Public
Area Served:Worldwide over 600 Branches
Key People:Mr. Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Chairman
Mr. Mohamed Ebrahim Alshroogi, Vice Chairman
Industry:Finance
Revenue: 1.04 Billion USD (2022)
Num Employees:10,663 Employees Worldwide (2022)
Parent:Dallah Al Baraka Group
Homepage:www.albaraka.com
Location:Al Baraka HeadquartersBahrain BayP O Box 1882Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
Locations:Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, Libya, and Iraq

Al Baraka Group B.S.C. ("ABG" / the “Group”) is licensed as an Investment Business Firm – Category 1 (Islamic Principles) by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse. It is a leading [1] international Islamic financial group providing financial services through its banking subsidiaries in 15 countries offering retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of Islamic Shari'a.

The Group has a wide geographical presence with operations in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Germany, in addition to two branches in Iraq and a representative office in Libya and provides its services in more than 600 branches. ABG’s network serves a population totaling around one billion customers. The authorized capital of ABG is US$2.5 billion

History

In 2013, Al Baraka Turk, the Turkish subsidiary of Al Baraka Bank, announced the initiation of a $250 million syndicated loan. This sharia-compliant facility is structured as a two-part deal and will be utilized for the bank's financing activities.[2]

In 2017, Al Baraka Banking Group and Flat6labs entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on various activities aimed at fostering the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem. The MOU included initiatives such as knowledge and expertise sharing, and mentoring fintech startups. The signing ceremony took place at the Al Baraka Headquarters in Bahrain Bay.[3]

Al Baraka Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Libyan Foreign Bank, a leading Arab bank in Africa. The signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of Al Baraka Türk Participation Bank. The primary objective is to establish a collaborative framework that enables joint initiatives and banking activities between ABG and LFB.

The MoU also aims to facilitate future technical cooperation programs. Key provisions of the MoU include knowledge exchange, with ABG offering expertise in Islamic banking to benefit LFB. The agreement also focuses on enhancing cooperation in correspondent banking, commercial finance operations, liquidity management, investments, information sharing, and idea exchange.[4]

In 2018, Al Baraka Bank Lebanon, a subsidiary of the Al Baraka Banking Group, initiated a core banking system conversion. The bank had previously signed an agreement in the previous year to implement the iMAL core banking system, provided by Path Solutions, in four of its 15 international subsidiaries. Prior to the conversion, all four subsidiaries had been utilizing Misys' Equation core system, which has since been rebranded as Finastra.[5]

Global Presence

The global network of Al Baraka Group is present in 14 countries, as well under the Al Baraka and other brand names.[6]

Country Name Former Name Branches
Jordan Jordan Islamic Bank108
Egypt Al Baraka Bank Egypt Al Ahram Bank (also formerly known as Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank) 32
Tunisia Al Baraka Bank Tunisia Saudi Tunisian Finance Bank 37
Sudan Al Baraka Bank Sudan 29
Bahrain Al Baraka Islamic Bank (AIB) Al Baraka Islamic Investment Bank B.S.C. (E.C.). 6
Turkey Albaraka Türk Özel Finans Kurumu A.Ş. 230
South Africa Al Baraka Bank Limited 11
Algeria Banque Al Baraka D'Algerie 31
Lebanon 6
Syria 13
Pakistan Al Baraka Bank Pakistan188
Libya Al Baraka Bank Representation 1 Representative Office
Iraq Al Baraka Bank Türk2

Notes and References

  1. https://www.ide.go.jp/English/Data/Africa_file/Company/sudan03.html
  2. Web site: AlBaraka Turk launches $250m financing . 2023-12-15 . www.tradearabia.com.
  3. Web site: Flat6labs and Al Baraka Banking Group to support entrepreneurs . 2023-12-15 . Wamda . en.
  4. Web site: ex_admin . 2017-07-26 . The Libyan Foreign Bank and Al Baraka Group sign MoU to enhance their financial services . 2023-12-15 . Libyan Express . en-GB.
  5. News: Al Baraka Bank Lebanon kicks off core banking revamp . Fintech Futures .
  6. Web site: Al Baraka. Al Baraka. 22 April 2013. 11 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150511071347/http://www.albaraka.com/default.asp?action=category&id=21. dead.