Bank of London and The Middle East, a specialist in Shariah-compliant financial services, has appointed Waleed Al-Omar as director for the Middle East and North Africa, a role which will see him take charge of the firm’s business development and relationship management across the region.

Al-Omar was instrumental in the establishment of BLME, having been involved right from the formation of business plans back in 2006, the bank said in a statement.

Al-Omar’s prior career includes him having been managing partner of Frontier Advisors, the Kuwait-based advisory firm which he co-founded in 2009, and non-executive director and chairman of the board audit committee of First Investment Bank in Bahrain. He has also been a member of the general partner board of the BLME Umbrella Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled vehicle, since 2008.

For the six months to 30 June BLME reported profits before taxes and impairments of £2.0 million ($3.1 million), falling slightly from £2.2 million a year before.