Standard Chartered is to roll out its Islamic banking
brand, Standard Chartered Saadiq, in Bahrain before the end of
2008.

A spokesperson for the bank told RBI the launch would
feature a number of retail banking products, including current and
savings accounts and personal loans as well as wholesale banking
products.

The Sharia-compliant brand, debuted in Malaysia in April 2007
and has since been introduced across the United Arab Emirates and
Pakistan. In Bahrain, Standard Chartered intends to provide credit
cards and mortgage products as part of the second wave of the
Standard Chartered Saadiq launch, expected to materialise in early
2009. In 2007, Standard Chartered predicted that up to 50 percent
of all Muslim savings across the globe would be managed in
Sharia-compliant accounts by 2009