Dr. Khaled Kawan, President & Chief Executive of ABC	Mr. Saddek El Kaber, ABC's Chairman

Manama, Bahrain: The Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), Bahrain’s largest bank and the leading regional bank in the Middle East, announced today the appointment of Dr. Khaled Kawan as President and Chief Executive of the ABC Group. Dr. Kawan comes from serving as Acting President and CEO of the ABC Group since April 2013 and Deputy President and Chief Executive for the past four years.

Commenting on this appointment, the Chairman of the ABC Group, Mr. Saddek El Kaber, said: “We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kawan. After a robust and thorough search, the Board of Directors is confident that Dr. Kawan is the most suitable candidate to lead ABC at this new phase. Over the past years, Dr. Kawan demonstrated great leadership skills, understanding of ABC and a strong drive to move forward with the Bank’s transformation process that aims to strengthen its leading position in the market.”

On his part, Dr. Kawan thanked the Board members for this opportunity: “I am honored with this appointment. ABC is a fantastic brand. It has all the prerequisites to excel. I look forward to continue working with the management team and the Board to achieve the potential of ABC in becoming the leading universal bank in the Arab world. I appreciate the challenges we face on the regional and global levels, but I am full of confidence that ABC will continue to make its unique mark in the Middle East’s financial sector and satisfy its stakeholders.”

Dr. Khaled Kawan joined ABC in 1991 and served in a variety of key local and global roles for the Group until 2009, when he was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive. Dr. Kawan has a Ph.D. in Banking Laws from the University of the Sorbonne in Paris.