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Doha, Qatar: Commercial Bank, Qatar’s first private bank, has won the best Investor Relations award for mid-cap companies at the Qatar Stock Exchange’s 2nd Annual Investor Relations Excellence Program Awards Ceremony.
Recognising best practice in Investor Relations, the awards were based on the expert opinion of the investment community and corporate investor relations websites.
Commercial Bank CEO Joseph Abraham said: “Commercial Bank supports the Qatar Stock Exchange’s initiatives to encourage listed companies to adopt international best practice in disclosure, transparency and investor relations. Commercial Bank strictly adheres to these principles when communicating with our shareholders, analysts and regulators, and we are delighted our efforts have been acknowledged through this award.”
Commercial Bank EGM, CFO Rehan Khan said: “We are proud to receive this award for Investor Relations and to be judged the best company in our category. Communicating directly and often in person with shareholders and analysts demonstrates Commercial Bank’s confidence in our strategy, and this award reflects the investment community’s confidence in Commercial Bank through our commitment to openness, transparency and maintaining a two-way conversation with financial markets.”
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About Commercial Bank
Commercial Bank has total assets of QAR 123.9 billion as at 30 Sep 2016. As a full service commercial bank, the Bank offers a full range of corporate, retail and investment banking services as well as owning and operating exclusive Diners Club franchises in Qatar and Oman. The Bank’s countrywide network includes 29 full service branches and 181 ATMs.
Profitable every year since incorporation in 1974, continual investment in technology and human capital, together with a strong capital base, provides a solid foundation for continued growth. A successful diversification strategy has expanded Commercial Bank’s GCC footprint through strategic partnerships with associated banks, the National Bank of Oman (NBO) in Oman and United Arab Bank (UAB) in the UAE. NBO, the second largest bank in Oman with total assets of OMR 3.5 billion as at 30 Sep 2016, has 60 conventional branches and 6 Islamic branches in Oman and 1 branch each in Egypt, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. UAB is headquartered in Sharjah, with total assets of AED 22.5 billion as at 30 Sep 2016, and operates 22 branches across the emirates in the UAE. Building on the successful execution of the Bank’s expansion strategy to date, Commercial Bank completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Alternatifbank in Turkey in July 2013.
Commercial Bank enjoys strong credit ratings of (A2) from Moody’s, (A+) from Fitch, and (BBB+) from Standard & Poor’s. The Bank is listed on the Qatar Exchange and was the first Qatari bank to list its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange. Commercial Bank’s Swiss Franc bond issuance in December 2010, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, was the first public bond issuance by a Qatari bank in Switzerland. Commercial Bank’s latest bond issuance in June 2014 and June 2016 are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Commercial Bank was awarded “SME Bank of the Year” for 2016 by The Asian Banker based on its wide-ranging achievements over the past three years, specialised team and customer focused products and services for SMEs. Commercial Bank also won the “Best Contact Centre” award at The Gulf Customer Experience Awards 2015 for outstanding customer service. In recognition of its CSR activities benefitting the Qatari community, Commercial Bank was awarded the “Best CSR Report”, at the Corporate Social Responsibility awards ceremony for organisations in Qatar
The Bank is dedicated to supporting Qatar’s community and social infrastructure through Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and sponsorship of various events. Title sponsorship of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters reflects the Bank’s promotion of excellence in sports and its keen interest in enhancing Qatar’s international sporting reputation.
About Alternatifbank (ABank)
ABank was established in 1991 and has been listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange since 1995. Commercial Bank became the majority shareholder in ABank in 2013 holding a 74.24% stake, following the acquisition of ABank shares of 70.84% from the Anadolu Group and 3.40% through a public tender offer. Anadolu Group remains a significant shareholder retaining 25% of shares in ABank. Currently the Bank owns 75% of ABank shares.
ABank is a mid-size Turkish bank that predominately serves medium-sized companies through a country-wide network of 53 branches in 20 cities. ABank provides commercial/corporate banking services and products, with a special focus on the growing segment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. ABank’s main product ranges cover trade finance instruments, working capital finance, cash management, and portfolio management.
At 30 Sep 2016, ABank had total assets of TL 14.9 billion, total loans stood at TL 10 billion, customer deposits of TL 6.9 billion and shareholders’ equity of TL 1.1 billion.
© Press Release 2017
