London, 5 October 2015

The London-based Arab Bankers Association announced that its 2015 Award for "Distinguished Services to Arab Banking" will be presented to Adel El-Labban, the Group CEO and Managing Director of Bahrain's Ahli United Bank, at its Annual Gala Dinner on 5 November.

George Kanaan, the Chief Executive of the Arab Bankers Association said, "We are honouring Adel El-Labban not only for his achievements in transforming Commercial International Bank into Egypt's premier bank, and in creating Ahli United Bank, which is now one of the Middle East's premier pan-regional banks; but we are also honouring him for the moral tone that he sets in his own bank and beyond at a time when banks and bankers in many parts of the world have lost the trust of the people they are supposed to serve. Adel El-Labban is a modern banker with traditional values and it will be our privilege to honour him."

Adel El-Labban said, "I am delighted to be honoured by the Arab Bankers Association.  I have been grateful for the opportunities given to me to work with and build banks that have become flagships for financial services in the Arab world, including Ahli United Bank where I continue to work with my colleagues to further develop its role as one of the region's premier pan-regional banks."

The Arab Bankers Association's Annual Gala will be held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London's Knightsbridge on Thursday 5 November. The Annual Gala is the premier social event for the Middle East financial community in London and attracts more than 250 guests, including many from the Middle East.

Previous recipients of the Award for Distinguished Services to Arab Banking include H.E. Raymond Audi, the Chairman of Lebanon's Bank Audi, Dr. Michael Tomalin, the former Chief Executive of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Naaman Azheri, the former Chairman of Lebanon's Blom Bank.

Ahli United Bank is a Bahrain-based bank with a presence in five other Arab countries and a wholly-owned subsidiary in London. The group was created in 2000 and has been led by Adel El-Labban since that time.

The Arab Bankers Association is a London-based professional organisation whose members work in banks and related industries in the Arab world and in the United Kingdom. For more information on the Association's Annual Gala Dinner, please contact the Association on (44) 20 7659 4889 or office@arab-bankers.co.uk

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© Press Release 2015