The Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIB)  now possesses a strategic share at 43 percent in the oldest Yemeni Islamic bank, the Islamic Bank of Yemen for Finance and Investment. The deal enabled the bank to restore its former position and to start competing with other Islamic and commercial banks working in the country and mounting to 13.

According to the partnership memorandum, (BIB) pointed out that his bank raised its share from 2 percent by the time of establishment in 1995 to 30 percent.

BIB chairman of the board of directors noted that his bank and the Yemeni Islamic Bank has become strategic partners as well as Ministry of Endowments, the General Pensions Authority and Haj Abdul Malik Al-Aswadi, the former owner of the bank.

The total capital of the bank will mount to $30 million, a ceiling that was called for by the Central Bank of Yemen. Over the past period, the bank witnessed a critical deficit of allocation, about half of the bank's paid capital.

Such a move rescued the Yemeni bank which was about to collapse. Earlier, the Watani Bank was exposed to the same circumstances and its collapse caused huge damages to depositors and stakeholders alike.