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Advertisers Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait B.S.C.
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The Growing Years
ABC's establishment in 1980 coincided with a period of surging international liquidity attributable to the major oil price increases of the 1970s and the resulting large current account surpluses of OPEC and especially Arab OPEC members. ABC's initial activities were deliberately geared towards contributing to the deployment of this liquidity through the medium of syndicated international lending.
Starting with a capital base far exceeding that of any other Arab bank, ABC was well placed to lead the Arab world's financiers in their bid to capture a position in the international financial community reflecting the growing importance of Arab economies in the global economic structure.
ABC quickly made its mark as an arranger and lead manager of major international loans and, as a result of its own underwriting power and support from some of its Arab banking associates, managed to make up for opportunities lost in the 1970s when Arab banks had not been able to finance a proportionate share of the growing and ever more diverse volume of trade and other business flows between the Arab states and the rest of the world.
After establishing its name and reputation in the syndication markets, ABC entered into a consolidation phase which was largely driven by factors extraneous to the contraction of the sovereign debt market prompted by the debt crisis in the early 1980s. During this time, ABC demonstrated its commitment to developing its international presence and closer contacts with central banking authorities, correspondent banks and clients worldwide by extending its network of branches, subsidiaries and representative offices to the world's major financial centres.
Simultaneously, ABC sought to enhance its management and control systems, to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of its operations, thus reassuring clients and correspondents of its responsibility, reliability and credibility as a business partner. These and other similar measures enabled ABC to prove its mettle during the 1990 Gulf crisis, and to maintain the confidence of its correspondents during a difficult time.
In the late 1980s, ABC redirected its strategy to the establishment of a more direct presence in Arab world markets and this strategy has been pursued with increased vigour in the 1990s.
In 1996, the Board of Directors appointed management consultants Arthur Andersen to conduct a comprehensive strategy review of the ABC Group. Implementation of the recommendations began in early 1998. These are designed to enhance ABC's global operations and encapsulate its vision to be the premier and most innovative international Arab financial group, in preparation for the challenges of the 21st century.
ABC's international outlook was reflected in its early ambition to establish itself in the world's major financial markets through a wide-ranging network of branches, subsidiaries and representative offices and affiliations with other financial institutions.
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Table of Contents The Al Khalifa Dynasty - Ruling Bahrain Since 1783 |
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ABC's development of a broader range of fee-earning products and services and greater emphasis on exploration of other avenues of lending (such as the ABC-innovated co-financing in collaboration with the World Bank and project financing) coincided with the decline in sovereign lending.