After the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon in 1975, Bahrain took the mantle of the Middle East's financial hub from the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Bahrain’s capital, Manama, is regarded as having the best financial regulator in the Middle East and is favoured by banks looking to capitalise on its superior access to Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest market. At present there are 409 financial institutions active in Bahrain.
In recent years, however, this status has been increasingly challenged by the establishment of financial centres in both Qatar and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, with the latter being Manama's most well-publicised rival. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a free zone governed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, was established in late 2004 and in 2011 hosts about 800 institutions. Qatar followed hot on its heels with the inauguration of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) in March 2005, which is now home to 121 institutions.
