Charles Russell and Trowers & Hamlins have won roles to act as administrators to two Bahraini banks.

The City firms were appointed earlier this month by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), serving as local banking regulator, with Charles Russell acting as administrator of Awal Bank and Trowers acting for The International Banking Corporation (TIBC).

Charles Russell's Bahrain head Clive Hopewell and insolvency and corporate recovery chief James Hyne are leading the administration process.

Hyne commented: "We are not yet able to determine how long the administration process will last, though we will establish this as quickly as possible. Awal had assets with a book value in excess of $5bn (£3bn) at the time of entering administration and we are seeking to verify the asset and creditor positions as a matter of urgency, along with a wide variety of ancillary issues that arise from this complex assignment."

Trowers' team for TIBC is being led by Bahrain partners Neale Downes (banking) and Abdullah Mutawi (corporate) and London-based projects partner Nicholas Edmondes.

Downes said: "Trowers has compiled a very experienced team, including leading independent restructuring and recovery firm Zolfo Cooper, that has set about the administration of TIBC. It is clear that there is significant interest in the outcomes of this administration and we shall focus on completing our work as quickly as possible."

The CBB said it concluded that the appointment of law firms to lead the administrations was "appropriate and cost-effective" given the number of legal cases in which both banks are either involved or likely to become involved.

Accounting firms including Baker Tilly have also been appointed to work alongside the law firms.

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