For Immediate Release 						    4th November,  2001


TAIB BANK ACQUIRES US$ 27.4 MILLION
REAL ESTATE PROPERTY IN TEXAS, USA


TAIB Bank E.C., the Bahrain-based Investment Bank, has acquired a US$ 27.4 million real estate property in Texas, USA.

In her statement, Ms. Susan Clark, First Vice President, said, "I am pleased to announce that TAIB Bank has acquired a US$ 27.4 million apartment block in Houston, Texas, as of October 2001."

Creekstone Apartments built in 1999, consists of 15 residential buildings totaling 338 Class A Units located in Houston, Texas. It has a current average occupancy level of almost 96% and will be managed by Sentinel Real Estate Corporation.  It was acquired by TAM Real Estate (a subsidiary of TAIB Bank in Florida) in joint venture with Sentinel Real Estate Corporation. 

Sentinel, founded in 1969 as the real estate division of Smith Barney, has been owned by management since 1988. Headquartered in New York with 40 offices all over the United Sates, it currently has over 62,000 apartment units under management. It also has over US$ 5 billion of assets under management. 

"Despite the decline in the real estate markets worldwide, we project that this acquisition will yield a substantial profit both for the bank and our investors", stated  Ms. Clark.

TAIB Bank E.C., an international Investment Bank based in Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange, conducts its business in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and in the regional markets of the Gulf, the Indian Sub-continent, Turkey and Central Asia.
 
-END-


For more information, please contact:
Vivian Jamal
Tel: +973-537594
Fax:+973-537593
E-mail: vivian@taib.com