Arthur D. Little report highlights strategies for Bahrain Banks to build a future-proof business

Arthur D. Little report highlights strategies for Bahrain Banks to build a future-proof business

Arthur D. Little (ADL) has published a new Viewpoint, “Pursuing Excellence in Corporate Banking” exploring challenges and opportunities that illustrate the lasting and even increasing importance of the corporate segment for banks in Bahrain. The Viewpoint reviews the impacts of recent disruptions and expected, and explores options for banks to strengthen and grow their corporate and investment banking (CIB) business.

CIB in Bahrain represents around $110 Bn. assets and $2.5 Bn. revenue. CIB assets are around 5 times the ones of retail banking. According to the report, regional banks however focus their external communication primarily on the consumer segment, whether it is fintech, strategy, digital transformation, products, or applications. Further, corporate banking is often perceived as a specialist area and, as a result, innovation is frequently thought to be focused in the retail banking sector. The report outlines an increasingly competitive, fast-evolving, and complex environment for CIB businesses, which includes a variety of challenges caused by structural trends, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine.

ADL Viewpoint calls for the primary focus to return to corporate banking for a few important reasons – an inflationary storm is ahead and CIB will be critically exposed to it and CIB is heavily impacted by environmental,