Gulf Finance House holds Annual General Meeting

Gulf Finance House, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on  Thursday, 29^th March, 2012, at the bank’s offices on the 28th floor of the Bahrain Financial Harbour’s East Tower. 

At the AGM, shareholders were updated on GFH’s activities and financial performance during 2011, a singularly challenging year for the regional banking sector. The meeting looked at market conditions in 2011, and the steps that GFH took in its drive to return to profitability by the end of the year. 

During the meeting the shareholders reviewed and approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on 8^th May, 2011, the Corporate Governance Report and the Board of Directors’ Report on GFH’s business activities and the audited financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2011. In addition the shareholders approved the rest of the agenda which included: the re-appointment of the Sharia’a supervisory board, the re-appointment of KPMG as external auditors and an increase in the number of board memberships to reach up to eight members. 

Commenting on the positive strides the Bank made in 2011, Dr. Ahmed Al Mutawa, Vice Chairman of GFH said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome GFH’s shareholders to this AGM, wherein we can celebrate together GFH’s return to profitability. This signifies the success of the recovery plan that was put in motion in 2010, which was originally viewed in an extremely critical light. 

The strength of GFH lies in its shareholders, and ensuring meet their needs remains one of our primary goals. The GFH team worked tirelessly through the trying times of 2011 to maintain the shareholder’s trust and confidence in the Bank, and those efforts have paid off as can be seen in the significant positive momentum gained on a number of our key projects and the positive growth trend of our share value.  

Al Mutawa concluded saying: “Last year saw the Bank achieve its goal of the past few years, namely its successful return to profitability and preparing the ground for growth. This journey, however, is not yet over since it now falls to us to ensure that we maintain that profitable status and further grow our revenues in the months to come.  Really, the challenge has only just started.  However, I remain completely confident that the priorities of the Bank’s board of directors, executive management, staff and shareholders are all focused unerringly on continuing to grow revenues, maximize efficiencies and the further growth of the institution.”