Banks’ needs were met during the recent unrest and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) is satisfied with its response to the crisis, MEES learns. While the political problems are still simmering – last week Bahraini firms fired strikers supporting pro-democracy protestors – the situation has calmed down after the violence seen in March and banking operations are back to normal. Pitting the Shi'a majority against the ruling Sunni majority, the riots left several dead and resulted in the deployment of over 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and neighboring GCC countries.