Business & Money | Thursday 1 December, 2016 11:00 am |

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, was named ‘Banking and Finance Company of the Year’ at the prestigious Arabian Business Achievement Awards held yesterday (Monday, November 28, 2016). The bank was recognised for its pioneering efforts toward the digitisation of banking as well as its resilient performance in the past year.

 

The Arabian Business Achievement Awards are adjudicated by an independent judging panel consisting of some of the Middle East’s top businessmen. The awards seek to recognise and reward outstanding corporate leadership across a range of sectors, with nominations drawn from across the Gulf and wider Middle East region, based on business activity over the past 12 months.

 

The ‘Bank of the Year’ award was received by Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD. Al Qassim commented, “We are honoured to be recognised as the Bank of the Year in the UAE. Our financial performance continues to remain strong in a challenging economic environment due to our solid foothold in the UAE and sound growth strategy. In addition, the bank has made bold strides this year towards transforming the banking experience for our wholesale and retail customers. Our investment in digital innovation has led to many firsts in the banking sector, including a pilot blockchain network for international remittances and trade finance and a futuristic banking space at Jumeirah Emirates Towers that combines artificial intelligence, 24/7 digital banking and personalised advisory services to create the blueprint for banking in the future. “ 

 

The recognition at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards is the latest in a series of accolades received by the bank. Earlier this year, Emirates NBD became the first bank in the UAE and the Middle East to win in three categories of the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2016: Best Bank in the Middle East, Best Bank in the UAE and Best Digital Bank in the Middle East. Emirates NBD was also named Bank of the Year – Middle East 2015’ by The Banker; Banking Company of the Year’ at the 2016 Gulf Business Industry Awards; Best Consumer Digital Bank in Middle East and Africa’ in the UAE and ‘Best Mobile Banking App’ Middle East and Africa, for the second year running, in addition to being named ‘Best in Mobile Banking’ for Middle East and Africa at Global Finance’s Best Digital Bank Awards.

 

Ratings agency Moody’s recently upgraded the bank’s long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings to A3 and its baseline credit assessment (BCA) to ba1. In addition to the bank's strong funding and liquidity profile, the upgrade reflected the bank's improved loan quality, and its higher loss-absorption buffers.