The Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) denied a report alleging that the association called for planned protests for the banks in Bahrain.
“BAB represents and supports member banks one hundred percent. There have been rumours and an article was published in the Arabic press that the Association has called for organised protests. This is completely incorrect. The Association does not engage in any political activities nor does it encourage social protests or political unrest,” BAB in a statement said.
“Financial services are the backbone of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economy, contributing 27 per cent of the country’s annual GDP and providing 14,000 jobs, training and opportunity to all sections of the Bahraini population,” it added.
According to BAB, all banks have confirmed that their operations are functioning normally and the banks’ customer services operations continue to run through the network of branches and ATMs all over the country.
“The underlying economic fundamentals of Bahrain remain strong. Hopefully, the dialogue by the Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa with all parties will end this uncertainty and Bahrain will emerge stronger and with a successful financial services industry as the jewel in its crown,” Rasheed Al-Maraj Central Bank of Bahrain Governor, said while commenting on the situation.