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Bank of London and The Middle East plc

BLME’s products and services are available to both Islamic and non-Islamic institutions, from those who use Islamic finance regularly to those who have had no previous involvement with it. “We aim to service all of these groups with a truly differentiated service and product offering,” says Humphrey Percy (CEO).

“At the heart of our business strategy is building an institution that will provide business solutions using innovative Sharia’a compliant investment and financing products to address the financial needs of our customers. Core to the bank’s product and service offering is that they are underpinned by the ethical cornerstones of Sharia’a compliant financial services,” advises Humphrey Percy.

BLME focuses on four main business lines:

• Islamic Treasury and financial institutions - a complete package of products and services to help manage liquidity;
• Corporate banking - addressing all the financing needs of corporates, projects and institutions;
• Private banking and investment management - assisting high net-worth individuals with their banking and investment management requirements; and
• Investment banking - providing a wide range of investment products for institutions, banks and corporates and providing corporate finance advisory services.

BLME was founded and managed by a high quality team bringing together a combination of experienced international bankers and leading experts in Islamic finance from some of the best institutions in the UK. The Board of Directors has a mix of conventional and Islamic banking and finance experience from careers encompassing wholesale and investment banking in the UK and the Middle East.

BLME’s first 17 months of operations for the period ending 31st December 2007 was profitable and saw assets grow to £297m.  At the start of 2008 BLME conducted a private placement which raised a further £75m increasing the capital base to £250m.  This will enhance the bank’s capacity to meet clients’ financing requirements, enable the bank to underwrite, syndicate and distribute a higher volume of business and further develop BLME’s strong balance sheet. There has been a healthy growth in assets during the early part of 2008. BLME is well positioned to continue to benefit from the growth of the Islamic Financial market in the UK.

Its largest shareholder is leading Kuwaiti bank Boubyan Bank which holds a 15% stake in BLME. The remainder is owned by a combination of financial institutions, investment companies and employees. 

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