The British Arab Commercial Bank PLC (BACB) is an international wholesale bank incorporated in the United Kingdom that is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the PRA and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It was founded in 1972 as UBAF Limited, adopted its current name in 1996, and registered as a

public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company ...

in 2009. The bank has clients trading in and out of developing markets in the Middle East and Africa. BACB has a head office in London, and three representative offices in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

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Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

in the

Cote D'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. The bank has 17 sister banks across Europe, Asia and Africa. It is owned by three main shareholders - the

Libyan Foreign Bank Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) was established in 1972 in Tripoli, Libya as Libyan Arab Foreign Bank; it was renamed Libyan Foreign Bank in 2005. It was Libya's first offshore banking institution licensed to operate internationally. The Central Bank of ...

(87.80%), Banque Centrale Populaire (6.10%) and Banque Extérieure d'Algérie (6.10%).BACB Shareholders
BACB Shareholders The bank provides services of trade finance, treasury, real estate lending, banking and payment services, and asset distribution and syndication. The current Chairman is Dr Yousef Abdullah Al Awadi, and the current

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

is Paul Jennings.

History

Origins

The bank was founded in 1972 as UBAF Limited and changed its name to UBAF Bank Limited in 1977. It began as an affiliate of

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

, and became an affiliate of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

when HSBC took over Midland Bank in 1992. The bank adopted the name British Arab Commercial Bank in 1996.

Since 2009

In 2009, Commercial Bank of Egypt sold its 8% stake. At the time, the other shareholders were

(49%), Libyan Foreign Bank (26%),

Bank Al-Maghrib The Bank Al-Maghrib ( ar, بنك المغرب, ) is the central bank of the Kingdom of Morocco. It was founded in 1959 as the successor to the State Bank of Morocco (est. 1907). In 2008 Bank Al-Maghrib held reserves of foreign currency with an e ...

(8%), and Banque Extérieure d’Algérie (8%). Banque Centrale Populaire eventually bought out Bank Al-Maghrib and thus gained a stake in BACB. In 2010, HSBC sold its 49% shareholding to the

("LFB"), a subsidiary of the

Central Bank of Libya The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) is the monetary authority in Libya. It has the status of an autonomous corporate body. The law establishing the CBL stipulates that the objectives of the central bank shall be to maintain monetary stability in Liby ...

("CBL"). Its share is 87.80%, with the other shareholders being Banque Centrale Populaire (6.10%), and Banque Extérieure d’Algérie (6.10%). On 2 June 2009, the Bank changed its corporate status from that of a private to a public company. In 2016, the bank opened a new representative office in Abidjan, to add to its existing representative offices in Algiers, and in Tripoli.

Operating area

Africa

BACB aims to facilitate cross-border trade through a sustainable revenue base with its chosen clients and markets. The bank is known for dealing with markets with which larger banks are often hesitant to do business, such as Middle Eastern and North African markets. The bank serves the rest of the African continent through relationships with a number of financial institutions and correspondent banks, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana.

Europe

While the majority of the bank's clients are African and Middle Eastern companies and institutions, working with them brings it into regular contact with European exporters and importers. The bank also has sister banks in European countries, including

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Financial performance

After a shaky performance over the preceding few years, BACB regained a stable position in 2016, and made a profit of £2.6 million before tax deductions. The bank's total assets also came to £2.9 billion that same year. The successful financial year also included an 11% increase in operating income to £42.7 million.

References

* http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/african-banker/british-arab-commercial-bank-bets-trade-finance/ {{Authority control HSBC acquisitions Banks based in the City of London 1972 establishments in the United Kingdom Banks established in 1972 Arab organizations