Mubasher: Gulf International Bank (GIB) announced the official opening of its operations centre in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

The new facility was inaugurated by Prince Saud bin Nayef Al Saud, Governor of the Eastern Province. The opening ceremony was attended by Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB); Ahmed Al Kholifey, Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), and other government officials and leaders from business and the financial services in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Spanning across an area of ​​33,316 square metre, the centre includes five ergonomically designed floors supported by a smart technology environment.

Currently, there are more than 500 people employed at the centre with provision for development and expansion, the bank said in a statement.

The new operations centre is another step in the GIB’s expansion strategy, following the successful conversion of the bank’s branches in Saudi Arabia into a fully-fledged local bank last year, after around 20 years of operations in the Saudi market.

Five years ago the bank launched its personal digital banking service ‘meem’, offering individuals innovative and Sharia-compliant products.