al khaliji

• Low fee current account - no sales, management or redemption fees on al khaliji investment products
• al khaliji Fusion, Qatar's first 2-in-1 current and savings account, offers up to 4% interest
• al khaliji welcomes Qatar Central Bank account charges announcement

Doha, March 6, 2010 : al khaliji, the region 'next generation' bank, is confirming its commitment to 'fair banking' based on its portfolio of innovative low charge retail and investment products with no sales, redemption or management fees.

al khaliji 'fair banking' announcement follows the recent Qatar Central Bank (QCB) guidance that banks in Qatar must review unfair customer service charges that were increased to unjustifiable levels during the global financial crisis.

"For the benefit of customers, all al khaliji products are simple and easy to understand. All have a "Full Disclosure" policy on fees and charges, demonstrating al khaliji's fairness, transparency and compliance to rules and regulations" says al khaliji Acting Chief Executive Officer Robin McCall.

al khaliji is the only mainstream bank in Qatar to offer customers an "Interest Paying Current Account". With interest rates as high as 4%, al khaliji FUSION offers a cheque book, free transfers, 24-hour access to funds via ATM and Phone banking, a single low monthly fee, no minimum balance, and no charges for cheque books or statements. While the QCB reports that some Qatari banks doubled their service charges in 2009, FUSION's exceptionally low monthly membership fee (QR15) remained the same.

On the loans front, when most banks were hastily increasing loan interest rates during the financial crisis, al khaliji left theirs unchanged. The result is that al khaliji customers continue to benefit from one of Qatar's lowest Auto Loan rates at 4.25% and enjoy Personal Loan interest rates as low as 8.99% for loans supported by salary transfer.

Continually introducing new investment products, al khaliji launched Qatar's first-of-a-kind Wealth Management structured product linked to gold in 2009.

Based on a fixed deposit backed by a 100% no-risk capital guarantee, 100% premature redemption payback and 95% overdraft facility, the product appealed to a wide range of investors looking for a very attractive return with no risk. It was so successful al khaliji will introduce further fixed deposit products in the near future.

"We provided investors a free of charge redemption option at any time on our Structured Deposit Product linked to Gold, while other banks may lock customers in for long periods or pay premature redemption fees on investment products. al khaliji understands the need to respond favorably when customer circumstances change," adds Andrew Ball.

As the 'next generation bank' al khaliji is always looking to the future and plans to introduce new products offering value for the money to meet customer requirements in the coming months.