Singapore Gulf Bank
1 known investors
SGB is a licensed bank that connects traditional fiat banking with cryptocurrency, offering real-time trading and settlement, digital onboarding, and personal and business accounts. It serves individuals and businesses across the GCC region and is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Also known as SGB · Singapore Gulf Bank B.S.C.
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) is a digital bank headquartered at the Bahrain World Trade Center in Manama, Bahrain, licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional wholesale bank. It offers corporate and personal banking services designed to let clients hold and manage traditional financial assets and digital assets on a single platform, including multi-currency accounts, real-time settlement, digital asset custody, trading solutions and fully remote digital onboarding, underpinned by AML/KYC controls.
SGB launched corporate banking services in November 2024, describing itself as the first regulated bank in Bahrain to offer comprehensive crypto-compatible banking, and extended services to individual clients thereafter. In May 2025 it launched SGB Net, a real-time multi-currency clearing network for digital asset market participants — crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, market makers, OTC desks and prime brokers — that supports 24/7 fee-free transfers between network participants without relying on SWIFT or correspondent banks, alongside treasury, payroll and vendor payout automation via APIs, institutional-grade liquidity access and fiat-crypto on/off ramps. The bank has said it would add named sub-accounts, off-exchange settlement and triparty services for institutional workflows. Further products include real-time virtual accounts for corporate treasury automation, announced in February 2026.
Founding story
The bank was founded and backed by Whampoa Group, a privately held Singapore-based investment group and multi-family office, and was licensed in Bahrain in February 2024. Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the Kingdom of Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund and Whampoa's strategic partner, announced an investment in SGB in February 2024. Amy Lee, a co-founder of Whampoa Group and niece of Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, retired from a four-decade career in law and finance in 2020, took an eight-hour blockchain course in 2022, and chairs SGB's global advisory board.
Business model
SGB operates as a licensed wholesale/digital bank serving corporate and individual customers, providing accounts, multi-currency clearing and settlement, custody and trading of digital and traditional assets, and connectivity to crypto exchanges and financial institutions. Distribution is largely digital, with remote onboarding for global clients and mobile apps published on the App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery and as a direct Android APK.
Traction
SGB reported hiring support from Tamkeen covering over 70 Bahraini employees in February 2025, and has built a network of partners spanning exchanges, infrastructure providers and correspondent banks, including Binance Bahrain, Aquanow, BIT, BNY and Standard Chartered. SGB Net onboards crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, market makers, OTC desks and prime brokers, with reported applications in treasury, payroll and vendor payout automation and institutional OTC trading with instant fiat settlement.
Latest developments
In February 2026 SGB launched real-time virtual accounts for corporate treasury automation; in April 2026 it joined BNY's correspondent banking network; in May 2026 it announced a strategic banking relationship with Standard Chartered to improve multi-currency services and payment rails in emerging markets; in June 2026 it partnered with digital asset platform BIT to let users fund U.S. equity investing from SGB accounts, and joined the Bahrain Association of Banks.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
SGB describes itself as the first fully licensed digital bank in the MENA region serving global investors, innovators and institutions, and as the first regulated bank in Bahrain offering comprehensive crypto-compatible banking services. Its positioning centres on financial connectivity between Asia and the MENA region, at a time when Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are competing to attract digital asset businesses that have historically had difficulty obtaining banking services.
SGB combines a full banking licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain with digital-asset-native infrastructure, allowing clients to manage fiat and crypto in one regulated institution. SGB Net's 24/7 real-time, zero-fee, multi-currency clearing operates independently of SWIFT and correspondent banking, aimed at reducing settlement times, FX costs and geopolitical exposure for digital asset businesses.
Technology
SGB's core platform combines traditional banking rails with digital asset infrastructure. SGB Net is a proprietary real-time, multi-currency clearing network enabling instant, zero-fee transfers among network participants outside SWIFT and traditional banking hours, with API-enabled fiat-crypto on/off ramps, 24/7/365 direct settlement, and API integrations for treasury, payroll and vendor payout automation. The bank also provides digital asset custody, trading solutions, real-time virtual accounts and fully remote digital onboarding with advanced verification and real-time monitoring.
Go-to-market
SGB acquires clients through remote digital onboarding available internationally and through partnerships with crypto exchanges, digital asset infrastructure providers and financial institutions, including Binance Bahrain, Aquanow, BIT, Standard Chartered and BNY. Public launches have been staged around Bahraini government and industry platforms such as Gateway Gulf 2024, with support from the Bahrain Economic Development Board and the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).
Corporate clients in the digital economy — including crypto exchanges, stablecoin issuers, market makers, OTC desks, prime brokers, custodians and payment service providers — as well as institutional and enterprise participants in digital assets, and individual/retail customers served through personal banking.
Geography
Headquartered in Manama, Bahrain (Bahrain World Trade Center, West Tower), operating across the GCC and serving global clients through remote onboarding, with a stated focus on connecting Asia and the MENA region. Its backers are based in Singapore (Whampoa Group) and Bahrain (Mumtalakat).
History
Whampoa Group appointed veteran former JPMorgan banker Edmund Lee as chairman of SGB in January 2024. The bank was licensed in Bahrain in February 2024, the same month Mumtalakat announced its investment alongside Whampoa. In October 2024 SGB appointed former Goldman Sachs executive Ali AlShamma as chief financial officer and former Sygnum executive Elaine Leong as chief operating officer. Corporate banking services launched on 4 November 2024 at Gateway Gulf 2024, and Bahrain's Deputy King HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa met chairman Edmund Lee later that month. In February 2025 the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) announced support for SGB in hiring more than 70 Bahrainis. SGB Net launched in May 2025, and former U.S. Federal Reserve vice chair Randal Quarles was named vice chairman of a newly formed global advisory board that month. Partnerships followed with Aquanow (August 2025) and Binance Bahrain (September 2025), real-time virtual accounts launched in February 2026, SGB joined BNY's correspondent banking network in April 2026, announced a banking relationship with Standard Chartered in May 2026, partnered with BIT in June 2026 and joined the Bahrain Association of Banks in June 2026.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 17
launches, deals, and filingsThe Bahrain Association of Banks announced that Singapore Gulf Bank had joined as a member.
SGB partnered with BIT, a digital asset financial services platform offering access to U.S. equities, allowing eligible users to transfer funds directly from SGB accounts to BIT to fund U.S. stock investing.
SGB announced a strategic banking relationship with Standard Chartered to enhance its multi-currency services and payment rails in emerging markets and streamline cross-border payment flows.
Binance Bahrain and SGB partnered to deliver direct USD transfers for retail customers moving money between bank accounts and digital assets.
Digital asset infrastructure provider Aquanow entered a strategic partnership with SGB to make fiat banking services more accessible to institutional and enterprise participants in digital assets.
SGB appointed former U.S. Federal Reserve vice chair Randal Quarles as vice chairman of its newly formed global advisory board to support its international growth strategy.
SGB launched SGB Net, a real-time, multi-currency clearing network for digital asset participants offering instant zero-fee transfers among network members without SWIFT, offshore corporate and personal accounts, treasury/payroll/vendor payout automation, institutional-grade liquidity access and 24/7 fiat-crypto on/off ramps.
Bahrain's Labour Fund (Tamkeen) announced support for SGB to employ skilled Bahraini professionals in high-value financial services positions and to assist the bank in launching operations in Bahrain.
Press reports citing people with direct knowledge said SGB was seeking to raise at least US$50 million, in talks with a Middle East sovereign wealth fund and other investors to sell an equity stake of less than 10% by early 2025, with proceeds for product development, payment network expansion and hiring; it also planned to acquire a stablecoin payments company in the Middle East or Europe in Q1 2025. A bank spokesperson declined to comment on the fundraising, valuation or acquisition plans.
$50M source ↗
HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Deputy King of Bahrain, met SGB chairman Edmund Lee at Gudaibiya Palace.
Announced on the sidelines of Gateway Gulf 2024, SGB launched corporate banking services under full regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain, including a real-time settlement network, digital asset custody and trading solutions, and remote digital onboarding, positioning itself as the first regulated bank in Bahrain offering comprehensive crypto-compatible banking. Services to individual clients were planned by the end of 2024.
SGB appointed former Goldman Sachs executive Ali AlShamma as chief financial officer and former Sygnum executive Elaine Leong as chief operating officer.
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced it would invest in Singapore Gulf Bank alongside its strategic partner Whampoa Group, the privately held Singapore investment group that backed and founded the bank. No amount was disclosed.
The bank was licensed in Bahrain in February 2024; it is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional wholesale bank.
Whampoa Group appointed veteran former JPMorgan banker Edmund Lee as chairman of Singapore Gulf Bank, its digital bank in Bahrain.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Singapore Gulf Banksgb.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Singapore Gulf Bank do?
- Bahrain-licensed digital bank offering corporate and personal banking that bridges traditional finance and digital assets.
- Who are Singapore Gulf Bank's investors?
- Singapore Gulf Bank's investors include Mirana Ventures.