MANAMA, BAHRAIN – 10 January 2016: Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, re-launched its Thimaar savings account for a new year, offering customers 4,000 prizes – the highest by any bank in Bahrain. The feature enhancements were introduced to further differentiate one of the Bank’s key products as it vies for a greater share of an increasingly competitive local banking market. Ithmaar Bank, which owns one of Bahrain’s largest retail banking networks, rolls out the new Thimaar Account from today (ed note: Monday 11/01/16), offering US$2.3 million throughout the year.

“Prize-based savings accounts are now almost a staple of the retail banking industry, so it has become increasingly challenging for banks to find new ways to differentiate their products from those of competitors,” said Ithmaar Bank General Manager, Head of Retail and Private Banking, Abdul Hakeem Al Mutawa. “Following a thorough study and analysis of the market, we decided that Thimaar should be restructured in its sixth year to offer the highest chances of winning in the Kingdom, which is an extremely attractive prospect for savers,” he said.

“Of the 4,000 prizes, more than half have been set aside for Thimaar Junior, our product for account holders under the age of 18, which offers additional prizes as an extra incentive,” said Al Mutawa. “This is another differentiator which helps us develop early relationships with our customers and encourages them to save from a young age,” he said.

Thimaar will provide US$3,600 in daily prizes, one US$10,000 monthly prize, four car and cash quarterly prizes totalling US$300,000, and US$600,000 in Eid prizes. Every BD50 maintained as an average daily balance qualifies a customer to enter the draws. The more customers save, and the longer they maintain balances in multiples of BD50, the more opportunities they have to win.