Al Baraka Banking Group Explores Acquisition Options as COVID-19 Pushes Valuations Down

Bahrain based Al Baraka Banking Group (ABB) is exploring bank acquisition options in Asia including in China, India and Indonesia in an attempt to expand its global presence. Further, with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic pushing valuations down, ABB’s Chief Executive Officer, Adnan Yousif, stated that ABB would not want to miss out on potential opportunities.

Yousif added that the banks around the world are facing the risk of lower profitability as financing rates remain at record lows while lenders are creating more provisions in expectation of a rise in bad debts. He also mentioned that the asset quality of the financial industry is under pressure, pushing prices down for both Islamic banks as well as conventional ba...