Arab Banking Corporation

Arab Banking Corporation (also called Bank ABC) is an international bank headquartered in Bahrain, and incorporated as a joint stock company in 1980 through a special decree by the Amir of Bahrain. It obtained an offshore banking unit licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency on 7 April 1980, and began operations in the same month. It is headquartered in the Diplomatic Area of Bahrain.

History

By April 1981, US$750 million had been fully paid by Bank ABC’s original three shareholders: the Ministry of Finance of Kuwait (whose shares have since been transferred to the Kuwait Investment Authority), the Libyan Secretariat of Treasury (whose shares were later transferred to the Central Bank of Libya) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. At the end of 1989, ABC’s authorised share capital was increased to US$1,500 million and in June 1990, paid-up capital was raised to US$1,000 million through an international share offering. In June 2006, ABC’s shares were split $10 to $1 in order to boost trading activities by placing them in the same range as other shares quoted on the Bahrain Bourse.