The Central Bank of Bahrain granted United Arab Emirates-based Mashreqbank PSC a license to open a wholesale bank branch in Bahrain.

The Bahraini central bank first granted Mashreqbank a license in late 1980 to operate an offshore banking unit. The lender then converted its license in Bahrain to a full commercial bank in September 2005.

The new license allows the UAE lender to expand its activities as a wholesale bank in Bahrain.