Description of the banking industry The banking industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. The rationale behind this observation is that almost all other industries depend on the banking industry for financial facilitation. Banks are critical where it comes to the financing of development in the small-scale sectors, as well as the large-scale sectors of the economy. Not only do large businesses depend on the banking industry for financing their developments, but nowadays small and medium enterprises have also become critical customers in the banking industry. It can, therefore, be said that the demand for services in the banking industry keeps rising with the rise in the need for financial development to facilitate growth in different sectors of the economy. This has necessitated the expansion of banks as a way of enhancing the capacity to serve the increasing number of customers. Banks often expand by way of broadening the range of financial services and packages they offer to the customers. The financial needs of customers vary, and so is the need for the banks to structure their services in a way that they can be in a position to meet the diverse needs of the customers. Diversity in the financial services that are offered by banks reflects the diverse financial needs and capacities of the customers. Expansion of services and activities in the banking sector denotes the increase in the number of employees in the industry to help discharge services to the customers. The banking industry, therefore, also emerges as among the leading employers in the world. Narrowing down to the banking industry in Bahrain, it is argued that the industry has played a critical role in making the country become one of the top financial centers in the region. The banking industry in Bahrain is divided into two: Islamic banks and conventional banks. Over 85 percent of financial assets in the financial sector of Bahrain are in the banking industry. The conventional banking segment is broader than the Islamic segment. The conventional segment is comprised of a total of 23 retail banks and 69 wholesale banks. The segment also has two specialized banks and 36 subsidiary banking offices for overseas banks. The Islamic banking segment is established on the basis that Bahrain is a Muslim country. Islamic banking offers products and services that are compliant with Sharia Law. The segment has 6 retail banks and 18 wholesale banks (Central Bank of Bahrain, n.d.). The assets of the Bahrain banking industry are approximately 200 billion US dollars. This highly supersedes the average annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. Several factors are attributed to the growth of the banking industry. Among these factors are the embrace of a market economy in the country, valuable fiscal and macro-economic policies, the internationalization of the regulatory environment in the country, and the presence of a highly qualified and effective workforce. The prevailing conditions in the Bahrain banking industry have attracted a substantial number of international banking institutions that are seeking to establish their operations in the country. The vast amount of revenue that is generated from the oil industry encourages money flow in the economy, thereby enhancing the role of the banking sector in the reinvestment of the money that comes from the oil industry (Central Bank