Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank on Thursday said it raised an additional $1bn in capital to cover $966m in provisions related to structured investment products, the largest announced writedown in a region that has largely escaped the subprime crisis.
The bank, owned by the six Arab Gulf states, said it had made an operating profit of $292m in the 2007 financial year, leading to a loss of $757m after provisions primarily related to structured investment vehicles and collateralised debt obligations with exposure to the US subprime sector.
