Page 402 - Records of Bahrain (7) (i)_Neat

388 Records of Bahrain
CONFIDENHAl.

-h-
19. nTho Arab Dan):" a thirty-ye nr old and refutable
Jordanian firm, opened a branch in Bahrain on December 9.
The island has no., four banka, two being British. The Bahrain
Bank's over—liberal credit policy who reversed early in the year,
aftci* t; managerial upset which coat the British manager,
Mr. F. Sharks, hia job. T' is revealed that the credit of several
well-known mercantile namco was uhaky• 11 v. a; i the re f o re na tural
to feel misgivings about the effect of u new bail's arrival on
the static, and even decreased local commercial scene; but the
magic of the new bunk's name, combined with the advocacy of

Shaikh Abdullah bin I or., the Ruler's uncle, outweighed such
considerations which indeed II:io Highness dismissed an representing
merely the dislike by the existing banks for fresh competitors.
20. The large number of British service families now stationed
lie re lias led to a houaing boern, but the figure varies from year
to year according to the -philoprogenitive tendencies of different
regiments, and next year nsy well see a slump. A few other events.
not 'meriting special comment here, ere mentioned in the attached
el: roil ol og i c i .1 suinr.iu ry.

(E.P .Wiltshire)
11.1/1. Poli tical j’vont

The Agency
Bahrain.
Decdiber 18, 1960

CONFIDENTIAL