Futurebank welcomes new CEO

Press release

Published December 26th, 2010 - 04:10 GMT

Mr. Gholam Souri, Futurebank's new CEO

Bahrain-headquartered Futurebank recently welcomed on board Mr. Gholam Souri as its new Chief Executive Officer.

With over twenty years' experience in the banking industry and a strong background in Islamic Banking, Mr. Souri hopes to take the bank manifolds forward while at the same time hone his skills and experience in this new role. He has previously served as a Director of Futurebank from its inception up to end of September 2006. Since then he has continued to serve as a Non-Executive Board member for Futurebank.

Speaking on the occasion, a delighted Mr. Souri said, "This is a wonderful opportunity for me to re-experience Futurebank. With the long strides Futurebank has taken in the years since my post here, I look forward to understanding its new culture, ethos, dynamics as I strive towards taking it forward. Though my relationship with Futurebank has been for many years i.e. from July 2004 up to end of September 2006 as a Deputy CEO & then from September 2006 to September 2010 as a non Executive Board Member, the challenges and opportunities of my new role excites me immensely."

"Futurebank has enjoyed phenomenal growth under the very able leadership of Dr. Seif, my predecessor, and I hope to continue in his footsteps by continuing to provide a personalized form of banking to our core-base of clients, I hope to strengthen Futurebank's already stalwart presence within the Bahraini banking and finance industry," he added.

Futurebank which has had a steady growth, reporting a net profit of BD 5.17 million for the first half-year of 2010 and a profit of BD 2.53 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2010, hopes to attain new standards of growth under the able guidance of its new CEO, Mr. Souri.

Welcoming Mr. Souri on board Dr. Hamid Borhani, Chairman, Futurebank said," I am very pleased to welcome my good friend and longtime colleague, Mr. Souri, on board and wish him monumental success in this latest venture. Although Dr. Seif will be dearly missed in his post, he will continue to service Futurebank as a Board member for the upcoming years. Having recruited the right man for the top job, I am confident that Mr. Souri's multi-GCC experience makes him the right person to take Futurebank into the new future."

Background Information

Future Bank

The shareholders agreed to purchase the independently valued operations of Bank Melli and Bank Saderat in Bahrain. These operations were successfully integrated in Bahrain by end January 2005. Additionally, the bank has been granted the first domestic currency full commercial banking license issued to a foreign bank in Kish Island, Iran.

The bank is structured according to a classic management structure. Two Deputy CEOs report to the CEO with responsibility respectively for the client-facing and operational sides of the bank. They are in turn supported by Department Heads of Treasury, Corporate Banking, Trade Finance, IT, Finance and Admin, Risk and Compliance. A separate Audit Department reports directly to the banks Audit Committee.

The banks main business focus is wholesale investment banking and it targets the financial flows between Iran and the GCC countries. Its target clients are the top 30 corporate listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)as well as large and mid size corporate, institutional and high net worth investors in the GCC. The Bank seeks to channel debt and equity capital from the GCC into Iran in either conventional or sharia compliant structures. The Bank expects to develop an equity issuance capability in Iran in 2006 and it has recently received official approval to launch what could be the first Iran country fund allowing foreign investors to invest in shares quoted on the TSE. The bank currently has 3 branches and an Treasury Unit in Bahrain. The bank is registered in Bahrain and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.