Increased provisioning for bad loans and a decline in income from investments have led Bahrain Islamic Bank into a quarterly loss.
Bahrain’s biggest Islamic retail bank by market value said on Wednesday provisions for impairments in the third quarter increased more than threefold to 2 million Bahraini dinars ($5.31 million) from 600,000 dinars in the same period last year.
The bank’s net loss for the three months ended Sept. 30 was 1.36 million dinars.
“Islamic banks in Bahrain are relatively more vulnerable compared to the conventional banks, and we could see instances of losses,” said Suleman Soorani, banking analyst at Sico Investment Bank.
“However it is very hard to make predictions because balance sheets for Islamic banks are very non-transparent. The exposure of Islamic banks to the real estate sector also poses a risk, and I think the central bank will continue to monitor the developments in Islamic banks closely.”
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLL26927120091021?rpc=401
“Islamic banks in Bahrain are relatively more vulnerable compared to the conventional banks.”
Yet we’re told ad nauseum that Islamic lending is more stable and responsible than Western lending. Go figure.
I was surprised that Reuters even allowed that quote into their story. Every once in a while they screw up and allow the truth to come out I suppose. Thanks for visiting. I need to check out your blog.
Hey, thanks for having me. You’ve definitely got some useful, fresh content & links here!