​BBK, Bahrain’s pioneer institution in retail and commercial banking, closed a bond issuance of USD 500 million last week through the issuance of an international senior unsecured bond with a five-year maturity date.

The issuance targeted professional investors in the Middle East, Asia and Europe and followed a successful four-day roadshow conducted in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and London. The investor mix was geographically diversified whereby 65% of the investors were based in the Middle East, 7% based in Asia and 28% in Europe. Furthermore, 50% of the bonds were bought by Fund Managers, 44% by banks and the remainder by private banks and others.

A delegation led by Mr. Reyadh Sater- the Chief Executive and consisting of Dr. A. Rahman Saif- Deputy Chief Executive (Wholesale Banking Group), Mr. Mohammed Abdulla – General Manager (Financial Planning and Control Group), Mr. Neil Sharp- Assistant General Manager (Treasury and Investment), Mr. Ajay Jaiswal- Acting Chief Risk Officer (Risk, Credit & Compliance) and Mr. Husain Toorani- Senior Portfolio Manager (Treasury and Investment), met with around 48 regional and international investors to update them on BBK’s strategy and sound financial performance. More than 85 regional and international investors invested in the BBK bonds, with a fixed coupon of 5.5%. The bond was substantially oversubscribed with the order book reaching around USD 1.1 billion. The success of the issue demonstrate the confidence that investors have in the prudent, conservative management and the sound financial position of such a long-established domestic bank.

Mr. Reyadh Sater, upon the delegation’s return from the roadshow said: “I am very pleased to see BBK successfully tap the international capital markets again which shows the strength of the Bank and the confidence of international investors despite the global and regional economic and geopolitical uncertainties. BBK’s impeccable reputation regionally and internationally has supported the success of this bond issuance; the bond was substantially oversubscribed with the order book reaching around $ 1.1 billion. This was backed by our strong results which reaffirms the success of the Bank’s focus on implementing the key initiatives for growth outlined in its strategic plans. Our financial results tell their own story, as we announced  new record profits  of BD 67.1 million for the year ended December 2018, 14.4% higher than the same period of last year, and the strong performance continued in 2019 as the Bank reported a 20% year on year growth in net profits to BD 20.0 million for Q1 2019”.