History of GIB
Gulf International Bank B.S.C. (GIB) was established in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1975, commencing operations in 1976.
GIB opened its first representative office in London in 1978, upgrading it to full branch status in 1979. In 1980, it opened a New York office – the first US branch of any Arab bank. During the 1980s, GIB increased its GCC focus, attracting capital to the region by financing major infrastructure deals in association with leading international institutions.
GIB opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi in 1990 (which became a full wholesale commercial branch in 2015) and another in Beirut in 1994 to support its regional activities, attracting business to its Bahrain hub from Middle Eastern markets in the Levant and lower Gulf, while at the same time servicing clients in Lebanon and the UAE.
In 1999, GIB acquired the London-based Saudi International Bank (SIB), which was subsequently renamed Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited, creating a larger, more versatile banking group. GIB (UK) is a fully owned subsidiary of the Bank and currently forms the asset management function of GIB.
A Saudi branch was launched in Riyadh in 2000, when GIB became the first non-Saudi bank to be awarded a branch license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, in 2005, a second Saudi branch was established in Jeddah, in the Kingdom’s western region. The Bank’s Saudi Arabian presence was further strengthened through the establishment of GIB Capital LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary, in 2008. Leveraging its parent’s investment banking capabilities and experience, GIB Capital offers a comprehensive range of innovative and customised solutions to corporates, family businesses, entrepreneurs, governments and quasi-governmental entities seeking debt and equity financing.
In 2010, GIB repositioned itself from wholesale banking to become a leading pan-GCC universal bank, and in 2014 opened a third Saudi branch, serving as the Country Head Office, in Al Dhahran, as well as launching retail banking services in Saudi Arabia through the establishment of its retail banking arm, 'meem by GIB’. meem offers online and mobile banking services, using an innovative approach focused on technology.
In another historical first, in May 2017, GIB received approval from the Saudi Council of Ministers to become the first foreign domiciled bank to be granted a local commercial banking licence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. GIB completed the conversion of its existing branches in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a locally incorporated bank in April 2019. The establishment of the new entity – Gulf International Bank Saudi Arabia (GIB Saudi Arabia) – marks the first time a foreign bank in Saudi Arabia has become locally incorporated.
Today, GIB Saudi Arabia operates as a fully-fledged local bank offering comprehensive banking and financial services across the Kingdom.
GIB Saudi Arabia is owned equally by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and GIB with a paid-up capital of SR7.5 billion and a strategy to further strengthen and build the Bank’s presence and levels of service in the important Saudi market.
Further expanding across the GCC, in 2024, GIB launched its wholesale banking branch in Muscat, Oman. Operating as a wholesale branch of GIB, the Muscat branch provides comprehensive wholesale banking solutions including a wide range of credit, global transaction banking, and treasury services. The branch strengthens GIB’s presence and commitment to the Sultanate of Oman, enabling the Bank to better serve its clients, including the country’s leading corporates, financial institutions, and government entities.
Today, GIB employs over 1,000 professionals across its offices around the globe, and provides wholesale, treasury, asset management, investment banking, retail banking, and Shariah-compliant banking services. GIB is owned by the governments of the six GCC countries and the Bank's principal shareholder is the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, with a majority stake of 97.2%.