MANAMA, BAHRAIN – 24 April 2013 – – Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, inaugurated a new, full-service branch exclusively for ladies.
The new branch, which bring to 17 the total number of branches in Ithmaar Bank’s fast growing network of retail branches, was inaugurated by Central Bank of Bahrain Head Of Wholesale Islamic Banking Supervision, Aysha Al-Jalahma, in the presence of the Branch Manager, Amani Ahmed Ajlan, as well as other female Ithmaar employees.
The inauguration, said Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board, Mohammed Bucheerei, is in line with the Bank’s commitment to becoming the region’s premier Islamic Bank and is in direct response to customer demands.
“The ladies branch, the latest addition to our fast growing retail banking network, was commissioned to address the specific requirements of our female customers,” said Bucheerei. “At Ithmaar, we have long maintained that it is only by listening closely to our customers and constantly working to grow ever closer to them, that we will be able to maintain our growth and success,” he said.
“We take customer satisfaction very, very seriously,” said Bucheerei, “and I am delighted to announce that, with the inauguration of the new ladies branch, we have taken another all-important step in the right direction,” he said.
The new branch, on Bukawara Road in East Riffa, is only a few meters away from the existing Ithmaar East Riffa Branch. This will bring the total number of branches to 17 and the total number of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to 41 in 25 strategic locations.
The ladies-only branch was designed to meet Ithmaar Bank’s established branch design and branding guidelines to ensure a consistent customer experience. In addition, the branch also features unique design elements introduced by a team of female interior designers.
The new branch is being run entirely by female Ithmaar Bank employees - from tellers to the branch manager - to ensure a strict ladies-only application.
“At Ithmaar, we have long recognised the important role women play in our community – both as employees and as customers,” said Bucheerei. “Perhaps more importantly, we have also long recognised our responsibilities, as a pioneering Islamic retail bank, towards supporting and, wherever possible, empowering women in our community,” he said.
“Women have specific spending and saving patterns as well as financial preferences and banking requirements,” said Bucheerei. “In particular, many women in our community especially value privacy. The new ladies branch helps address these very requirements,” he said.