Bahrain, Dec. 4 -- MANAMA - National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) bid to acquire 100 per cent of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) will give new impetus to BisB, thanks to the strong base of NBB.

National Bank of Bahrain BSC (NBB, B2 stable, b2) announced on the Bahrain Bourse that it had submitted a voluntary conditional offer to acquire up to 100% of Bahrain Islamic Bank BSC (BISB, B2 stable, b2) through a share swap or cash offer.

Moody's says if concluded, the deal would be credit positive for BisB because it would give the bank access to NBB's strong capitalization, ample liquidity and a large customer base.

NBB is one of the largest retail banks in Bahrain, with around a 12% market share by total system assets, and is largely owned by the go...