Gulf African Bank
Gulf African Bank (GAB), whose full name is Gulf African Bank Limited, is a commercial bank in Kenya operating under an Islamic banking regime. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator. History. Discussions to establish the bank started in 2005, by individuals and institutions from the Persian Gulf and Kenya. The bank began banking operations in 2008, after receiving a commercial banking license and authorisation to establish a Sharia bank, from the Central Bank of Kenya. Gulf African Bank is the second commercial bank in Kenya to receive  authorisation to practice Sharia banking, after First Community Bank, which opened in 2007. At the time it opened, Gulf African Bank's capital base totalled over US$21 million (KES:1.75 billion). Ownership. The shares of stock in Gulf African Bank are privately held by institutional and private investors from the Persian Gulf, Kenya and the United States of America. Institutional investors account for over 90% shareholding. The major shareholders in the bank include the investors listed in the table below. In September 2012, the International Finance Corporation acquired 16% shareholding in the bank for US$5 million. It is not  clear how the shareholding will look after the money changes hands. Branch network. , the bank operates a network of branches at the following locations: