Mumtalakat and ARP Group to Establish an AI-Native Wholesale Bank in Bahrain

Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat) and ARP Group have partnered to establish an AI-native and blockchain-enabled wholesale bank headquartered in Bahrain. The partnership was announced on 1 November 2026 on the sidelines of Gateway Gulf 2026, the investment forum hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board.

The venture has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain. It will commence regulated activities only after obtaining final authorisation, so this is a proposed bank, not one that is open for business.

What the bank is designed to do

The proposed bank is intended to serve regulated financial institutions, payment companies and businesses with cross-border operations. It aims to simplify banking for clients whose needs span multiple markets and currencies, using technology to reduce the complexity and cost of serving them.

The bank is being designed to use artificial intelligence across its operations and offer programmable services that connect directly with clients’ systems through APIs. That design comes with human oversight, governance and risk controls, and products and services would be introduced in phases, informed by engagement with prospective clients.

The partners behind the venture

Mumtalakat is the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, established in 2006 and wholly owned by the Government of Bahrain. The partnership combines its long-term investment approach with ARP’s experience in institutional finance and digital financial infrastructure.

ARP Group is the holding company of ARP Global Capital and ARP Digital, the latter co-founded by Yusuf Alireza alongside Abdulla and Abdulaziz Kanoo. ARP Digital is separately licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a Category 3 crypto-asset service provider, which is distinct from the new bank’s in-principle approval.

“Financial services have long been a cornerstone of Bahrain’s economy, and as the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom, our role is to invest in opportunities that strengthen the sector’s competitiveness and support its continued evolution.”

His Excellency Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, said the partnership brings together an experienced institutional team with Bahrain’s well-established regulatory and business environment.

“Institutional clients with complex cross-border needs still face fragmented banking services.”

Yusuf Alireza, Chairman of ARP Group, said the venture aims to build a bank that supports clients across the Gulf and international markets.

What to watch next

In-principle approval is a green light in principle, not a licence to operate. Regulated activity can only begin once final authorisation is granted, and no date has been set for that decision yet.

Plenty is still unknown. There is no bank name yet, no investment amount or ownership split, and no clients named so far.

For now, the weight of the news sits with the partners and the regulator’s signal. The real test comes with final authorisation, when this design will have to prove it can genuinely cut the cost of banking across borders.