BAHRAIN COMMERCIAL BANKS INTRODUCE FIVE-DAY WEEK
Bahrain is the first Gulf Arab country
to introduce an obligatory five-day working week for its
commercial banks ending a traditional six-day week.
    The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) said the regulation
applied only to the domestic sector comprising about 20
commercial banks and was not obligatory for the island's
approximately 70  offshore banks.
    BMA Banking Services Director, Sulman Bin Khalifa Al
Khalifa, said commercial banks will now open from Sunday to
Thursday and added that twenty-one offshore banking units had
also requested and been given permission for a five-day week.
 REUTER
