Business & Money | Sunday 19 June, 2016 11:57 am |

Ahli United Bank (UK) PLC celebrated its 50th year of doing business in the UK, marking this milestone anniversary with an event held at London's Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square.  

Established in 1966, United Bank of Kuwait Limited, the forerunner of AUB (UK), merged in 2000 with Bahrain’s Ahli Commercial Bank to form Ahli United Bank Group, the now pan-Middle East financial services group of which AUB (UK) is a wholly owned subsidiary.  

The event was attended by senior diplomats, honoured guests and members of London-based professional and business organisations, as well as the Board of Directors and former and current management and staff members.   

Speaking at the dinner, AUB’s Chairman Hamad Al-Humaidhi said: “We are proud to celebrate half a century of presence and service to our valued clients in the UK, thus holding the record and distinction of being the oldest bank from the Gulf and MENA region to continuously operate in the UK market. It is a testament to the pioneering spirit of the Bank’s founders that, barely a few decades after British institutions established their -and the region’s-  first local banks, investors from the region came full circle to establish the Gulf’s very first bank in the heart of London. It is the same spirit which continued to inspire and drive AUB’s journey of remarkable success and expansion over the years”.  

“AUB (UK) was founded to connect clients and businesses from the Gulf to global markets and opportunities, undertaking to offer the very best of British banking practice combined with a unique understanding of the special needs of offshore customers from the Gulf and the MENA region at large. Fifty years on, much has changed in terms of our product and service offering, but our guiding principles remain the same, to serve with the highest integrity, always making customer service the priority and focussing on the sustainability of our businesses for many years to come”, added Mr. Al-Humaidhi.  

AUB (UK) is part of Ahli United Bank, a pan-regional banking group with operations spanning seven key Middle Eastern countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Iraq, Egypt, and Libya) as well as the United Kingdom.