About

Previously known as GFH, the Bahrain-headquartered Islamic investment bank expanded its role in 2014 to become a financial group offering a range of Sharia-compliant services including real estate finance and corporate investment. General counsel and executive director Gaby El Hakim leads the group’s highly respected legal team and brings more than 13 years of experience in corporate banking, investment banking, structured finance, capital markets, private equity and Islamic finance. The group and its products have received industry recognition and won a number of awards, placing it at the forefront of global Islamic finance. In 2015 it was named the fastest growing bank in Bahrain and won a number of awards recognising the strength of its brand development and visual identity. The legal team is a core part of GFH’s value proposition, helping to structure and promote new products throughout the region and providing litigation and regulatory advice to the group and its subsidiaries. The GFH legal team has recently worked alongside Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) to launch an Islamic bank in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the second financial free zone in the United Arab Emirates after the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). This was the first new bank to be established in the free zone and the legal team won praise by nominators for its role in preparing the groundwork and handling the challenge of working in a new jurisdiction.