HE Sheikh Dr. Khaled Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of QIIB, chaired the ordinary and extraordinary general assembly meeting of QMB, which was established in partnership between QIIB, the Moroccan Real Estate and Tourism Loan Bank (CIH), and the Deposit and Management Fund (CDG) with a  view to establish a participatory bank in Morocco.

Held in Casablanca, Morocco, the meeting discussed the agenda of the legal and practical arrangements deemed necessary for the establishment of the bank, following the approval of the application submitted to the Central Bank of Morocco. The attendees agreed on giving the new participatory bank the name of Umnia Bank, and on increasing the capital of Umnia Bank to 600 million Moroccan Dirhams.

Besides HE Sheikh Dr. Khaled Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani, QIIB was also represented by Mr. Abdulbasit Ahmad Al-Shaibei, the CEO of the Bank, while CIH Bank was represented by Mr. Ahmed Raho, Chairman, and CDG by Mr. Yassin Al Hadawi, Vice-director.

On the occasion of the ordinary and extraordinary meeting of the founding general assembly, HE Sheikh Dr. Khaled Bin Thani Bin Abdullah Al Thani said, “We are extremely happy to have reached this fruitful end through our partnership in Morocco, and to have reached a very advanced stage as we are getting close to launching the operational activities of Umnia Bank, and we hope that it will be a successful bank at all levels”. 

He added: “The experience of the parties that are taking part in the establishment of Umnia Bank, and the great efforts that were expended during the establishment procedures, and which created the solid foundation of Umnia Bank, and also the strength of the Moroccan economy and the rich opportunities it has to offer, have all together constituted a total experience that will certainly benefit all participating parties and the various sectors of the Moroccan economy”.

HE pointed out that: “The special preparations for launching Umnia Bank were supported by a number of competent and qualified persons, be it from QIIB, CIH, or CDG, who helped in getting the application we have submitted to the Central Bank of Morocco in the first position among all applications submitted by other institutions to get licenses for opening participatory banks in Morocco. And we are doing our best in order to maintain our first position, when launching the activities of the bank and gain the trust of clients in all categories of the Moroccan society.

Finally, HE Sheikh Dr. Khaled hoped that the operational activities of Umnia Bank will start very soon after the accomplishment of all arrangements and getting all process-related approvals and the final licenses for bank operation from the supervisory authorities in Morocco.