Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain – 11th October 2020 – The Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) Board of Directors held it’s fourth meeting for the year 2020, chaired by Mr. Hassan Khalifa Al-Jalahma on Sunday, 11th October 2020.
The Board reviewed the topics on the agenda, including the CBB’s performance report and latest developments in the financial sector for the third quarter of 2020.
The Board was also briefed on the measures taken by CBB based on the royal directives from the Cabinet meeting which was held on 14th September 2020, urging all banks to defer loan payments until the end of the year in a manner that does not affect the banks’ liquidity and financial solvency. The Board expressed their appreciation to the banks, financing companies and microfinance institutions on their positive response to the postponement of loans for individuals and companies, as it will contribute to easing the citizens welfare during these unprecedented circumstances. These measures will help sustain liquidity to support different sectors financially, which is in line with the efforts made by the Kingdom’s esteemed government through various aid programs provided to individuals and companies during the past months, and will greatly contribute to mitigating the economic effects of the current pandemic, in order to maintain financial and economic stability and sustainable growth.
The Board also viewed presentations prepared by consultants appointed by the CBB on Digital Transformation in the financial sector and on Open Banking, which have an important role in the development of the Kingdom’s banking sector products and services and its overall digital transformation efforts.