Recognised for innovation and superior proposition in Retail Banking

Also wins Auto Loan Product of the Year

Dubai, 30 March 2017

Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the region, was recognized as the ‘Best Retail Bank in UAE’ for 2017 at The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards. In addition, the bank also received the ‘Auto Loan Product of the Year in Asia Pacific’ award for 2017.  The awards were received by Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD at a ceremony held in Tokyo earlier this month.

Emirates NBD was named UAE’s best retail bank for its robust financial performance, registering a strong growth in operating profit and a declining cost-to-income ratio. Last year, the bank’s Retail Banking Group grew faster than market across most product categories, gaining market share.

The bank continued to lead the market on innovation and digitization, providing customers with enhanced value, easier access and a better user experience. From its Emirates NBD Future Lab™ innovation centre, the bank introduced several first-to-market solutions such as Emirates NBD Pay, a contactless payment service allowing to customers make in-store purchases instantly via their mobile banking app, mePay that allows customers to transfer cash to a friend instantly across the UAE, and Timesavers, a tablet banking app that fast tracks customers from queues and services specific requests instantly.

The bank opened the region’s first Branch of the Future at Emirates Towers, Dubai, featuring Pepper, an artificial intelligence robot, as well as showcasing emerging breakthroughs in banking and payment technology. EVA, the region’s first intelligent voice-based and chatbot virtual assistant was launched, and the bank’s widely popular 60-second DirectRemit service extended to new corridors including Egypt and Sri Lanka.

Commenting on the win, Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Head – Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD said: “It’s an honour to be recognised once again by The Asian Banker as the best retail bank in the country. This is the fourth time the bank is being recognised with this prestigious award, which is a recognition of our commitment to providing customers with innovative value-added products and the highest levels of customer service. Our digital proposition continues to lead the market and enables customers to carry out day to day banking, pay bills, transfer money or apply for new products on the move and round the clock.”

Emirates NBD was also awarded the Auto Loan Product of the Year award for its popular Auto Loan product. Despite a slow market, the bank introduced a number of successful initiatives including customer promotions jointly with dealers to grow market share. The Auto Cash Loan, a unique product variant that allows customers to borrow against their existing cars and unlock equity was launched.

“Our Auto Loan business continues to lead the market, offering customers attractive promotions, flexible payment options, buy-back programmes, and quick approvals. Our Auto Cash Loan launched last year allows customers to borrow against their existing cars, providing access to liquidity during difficult times while our recently launched Green Auto Loan offers customers added pricing incentives to buy electric or hybrid cars and contribute to a cleaner environment,” added Sarkar. 

Winners of The Asian Banker Awards were selected after a stringent three-month evaluation process based on a balanced and transparent scorecard refereed by prominent global bankers, consultants and academics, and is one of the most prestigious of its kind.

-Ends-

About Emirates NBD:
Emirates NBD is a leading banking Group in the region. As at 31st December 2016, total assets were AED 448 Billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 122 Billion). The Group has a significant retail banking franchise in the UAE and is a key participant in the global digital banking industry, with over 90 per cent of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The bank currently has 219 branches and 1012 ATMs and CDMs in the UAE and overseas and a large social media following, being the only bank in the Middle East ranked among the top 20 in the ‘Power 100 Social Media Rankings’, compiled by The Financial Brand. It is a major player in the UAE corporate and retail banking arena and has strong Islamic Banking, Global Markets & Treasury, Investment Banking, Private Banking, Asset Management and Brokerage operations.

The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and representative offices in India, China and Indonesia.

The Group is an active participant and supporter of the UAE’s main development and community initiatives, in close alignment with the UAE government’s strategies, including financial literacy and advocacy for inclusion of People with Disabilities under its #TogetherLimitless platform.


For more information, please visit: www.emiratesnbd.com

For further information on Emirates NBD, please contact: 
Ibrahim Sowaidan
Senior Vice President
Head - Group Corporate Affairs
Emirates NBD
Telephone: +971 4 609 4113 / +971 50 6538937
e-mail: ibrahims@emiratesnbd.com

Tricia Kaul | Shaleen Sukthankar
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller; Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600; Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: tricia.kaul@bm.com  | shaleen.sukthankar@bm.com

© Press Release 2017