MANAMA, 24 June 2007 — Ahli United Bank (AUB) won the “Best Bank in Bahrain” award at a ceremony organized by Euromoney, a leading international finance magazine. AUB was also named the “Best Bank in the Middle East” at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi.
The bank’s recent achievement marks the third major, regional award AUB has won in the past few months. Earlier, AUB was awarded “Best Bank in the Middle East” by Global Finance and in 2006, the bank was once again named “Best Bank in the Middle East” from The Banker.
AUB’s outstanding performance at this year’s regional awards is a unanimous vote of confidence by the international finance industry of AUB’s position as the Middle East’s premier banking institution.
“It is an honor for us to receive the ‘Best Bank in the Middle East’ award from a prestigious journal like Euromoney. The recognition that Ahli United Bank’s success has achieved from leading publications in the banking industry underscores the soundness of our business strategies and the policies adopted by the management,” said Fahad Al-Rajaan, AUB chairman.
Al-Rajaan added: “As one of the Middle East’s leading, integrated banking groups we are committed to supporting further growth within the region. Last year we made great strides with our entry into Egypt. Our strategy continues to be consolidating growth in our existing markets and seeking further growth in the region as evidenced by our recent agreement to invest in Oman through Alliance Housing Bank.”
In presenting AUB the award for “Best Bank in the Middle East,” Euromoney recognized the benefits of “its strategy of building a regional bank designed to give it a strong presence in each of the region’s major markets.”
Euromoney said that unlike many banks, “AUB has not had to sacrifice financial performance or stability to achieve its strategic goals, its profits rose 28.5 percent and it was upgraded to A- by Fitch in 2006.”
Regarded as the benchmark awards for financial services globally, the Euromoney Awards for Excellence are now in their 16th consecutive year.
AUB previously won “Best Bank in Bahrain” and was ranked “No. 1 Local Private Bank in the Middle East” in 2006 by Euromoney.