Published: February 3, 2016
Our winners from across the region.
For the past eight years we’ve been celebrating the achievements of commercial and investment banks, Islamic banks, private banks, asset managers, brokers, and a single law firm in our Middle East Banking Awards. The past year presented a very challenging operating environment for the region, maybe even the toughest since we launched in 2008. This year’s winners are a reflection in many ways of the economies and countries that they serve, and there can be no doubt that they are, like the customers they serve, large and small, ready for the challenges and opportunities presented by these changes.
Furthermore, many of our winners are increasingly embedding sustainability into their corporate cultures, and this “no longer” so new way of thinking and acting is providing balance , engaging employees, and ultimately improving customer service, while strengthening ties with the communities that they serve.
We have recognised commercial banks that have reported record profits, investment banks that have structured ‘first of a kind’ Islamic finance transactions, asset managers and brokers who continue to improve service and encourage capital flows into the region. We have introduced two new awards, our inaugural financial inclusion and best product launch awards.
Our country-by-country reports highlight the performances of all our winners, and include exclusive insights from the firms’ leaderships regarding their strategies for growth and proudest accomplishments over the year. Congratulations to all our winners on an outstanding year.
Middle East
CEO of the year: Hussain
CEO of the year: Hussain Al Qemzi
Best investment bank: Mashreqbank
Best foreign investment bank: Barclays
Best Islamic bank: Jordan Islamic Bank
Best private bank: Credit Suisse
Most innovative bank: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Best product launch: Mashreqbank
Financial inclusion award: Bank of Palestine
Best broker: EFG Hermes
Corporate social responsibility award: Arab Bank
Best asset manager: Jadwa Investment
Best law firm: Dentons
This year’s winning investment banks have demonstrated excellence across a b road variety of areas of business, which is impressive during a year when the direction of commodity markets reversed and presented substantial headwinds for GCC credits resulting in new less sanguine risk profiles.
Mashreqbank stands out, and retains for a second consecutive year our award for best investment bank. The bank has successfully positioned itself as a prominent capital raising platform arranging financing for regional and local corporates, as well as, financial institutions across its coverage countries. Notable recent transactions include arranging syndicated financing for regional based leading businesses such as OSN (MENA Pay-TV network) , GEMS Education, Bahrain Steel, ENOC, Royal Jordanian, Pakistan International Airlines, as well as, arranging and channeling Middle Eastern liquidity towards a number of financial institutions spanning across East and West Africa, Turkey, Egypt, and as far afield as Vietnam. The bank arranged and closed, over US$10.5bn in transactions with both Islamic and conventional structures and is up over last year’s impressive deal flow by 30 plus percent.