Gulf International Bank (GIB) as mandated lead arranger has been mandated by Shamil Bank to arrange and underwrite a US$50mn three-year syndicated murabaha facility.

Shamil Bank was established in June 2000 following the merger between Faysal Islamic Bank and Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf. It now operates as a Bahraini shareholding company and holds offshore banking and local commercial banking licences issued by the Bahrain Monetary Agency.

Shamil Bank is considered the largest Islamic commercial bank in Bahrain and one of the largest Islamic financial institutions in the Gulf.

This financing is Shamil Bank’s debut in the syndicated market and is a further milestone in the bank’s development and growth.

The bank’s long-term foreign currency and financial strength rating has been upgraded by Capital Intelligence Rating to BBB- following its annual review in August 2004.