Kuwait - 22nd July, 2015: Burgan Bank announced today that it has won four awards from The Asian Banking & Finance Magazine, one of the world's most distinguished publications that reports on an extensive range of financial news across different practices. The awards presented to the bank were 'Best Domestic Retail Bank of the Year' for the third consecutive year, 'Best Credit Card Initiative of the Year in Kuwait', 'Best Advertising Campaign of the Year in Kuwait' and 'Kuwait Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year' for the second consecutive year.

The bank's success was recently announced at the Asian Banking and Finance 2015 Awards ceremony held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where judges from global institutions identified Asian banks that rise above the rest with their groundbreaking strategies and unparalleled services which enhance the overall banking and finance sector.

Mr. Raed Al Haqhaq, Burgan Bank's Chief Banking Officer said: "We are honored to be acknowledged by the Asian Banking & Finance Magazine and to receive these four prestigious awards. The awards are a reflection of our commitment to attain customers' trust through excellence and to building an innovative and customer centric bank.  On behalf of Burgan Bank, I would like to extend my appreciation to the panel of judges at Asian Banking & Finance Magazine, and I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to our staff who constantly exert maximum effort to repeatedly achieve such accolades."  

The 'Kuwait Domestic Cash management Bank of the Year' award underlines the bank's product diversity and the exceptional cash management services offered to corporate clients. Burgan Bank's Cash Management offering presents itself as a platform that provides a number of key services specialized in cost effective and end to end solutions that optimize cash flow for corporates. 

Moreover, the 'Best Credit Card Initiative of the Year in Kuwait' award a reflection of the success of the Burgan Bank Qatar Airways co-branded MasterCard, the fastest air mile earner in Kuwait where the bank continuously provides the best in class banking and aviation experiences and benefits to cardholders in Kuwait.

The Burgan Bank Qatar Airways co-branded MasterCard offers unrivalled Qmiles for every Kuwaiti Dinar spent, depending upon the card variant and spend location. The Qmiles can be redeemed for a selection of services such as complimentary flights, upgrades and excess baggage awards on Qatar Airways, award flights on partner airlines and across the oneworld® alliance.

Furthermore, the 'Best Advertising Campaign of the Year in Kuwait' award has been granted to Burgan Bank for its creativity in executing the premier banking campaign, where the communications spelled out the exclusive convenience of Premier banking customers' benefits, making them stand out from the crowd.

Burgan Bank continues to execute its strategic plan and adopt best practices that are in line with its overall growth objectives at different fronts. The latest awards follow an extensive list of recognitions that the bank continues to receive, which highlights its growth story and progress of its local, regional and international operations. Moreover, Burgan Bank has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 235 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Tunisia, Lebanon and Palestine.

About Burgan Bank 
Established in 1977, Burgan Bank is the youngest commercial Bank and second largest by assets in Kuwait, with a significant focus on the corporate and financial institutions sectors, as well as having a growing retail,  and private bank customer base. Burgan Bank has five majority owned subsidiaries, which include Jordan Kuwait Bank, Gulf Bank Algeria, Burgan Bank - Turkey, Bank of Baghdad, Tunis International Bank, in which Burgan Bank owns a majority stake. Burgan Bank Group has one of the largest regional branch networks with more than 235 branches across Kuwait, Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Tunis, Lebanon and Palestine.

The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region. Burgan Bank's brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire. 'People come first' is the foundation on which its products and services are developed.

Earlier this year, 'Brand Finance' - the international brand valuation company- re-affirmed Burgan Bank's brand rating as AA with a positive outlook making it the highest rated banking brand in Kuwait. The bank has also received the "Best Bank in Kuwait" 2014 award from EMEA Finance Excellence, 2014 International Diamond Star for Quality' award from Business Directions, 'Best Investor Relations' at 2014 Annual GCC Investment & Development Awards, "Best Domestic Retail Bank of the Year" award from the Asian Banking & Finance Magazine for the second year in a row, and "Best domestic Cash Management in Kuwait" award from Asian Banking & Finance Magazine. Excellence is one of the Bank's four key values and Burgan Bank continually strives to maintain the highest standards in the industry. The Bank was re-certified in 2010 with the ISO 9001:2008 certification in all its banking businesses, making it the first bank in the GCC, and the only bank in Kuwait to receive such accreditation. The Bank also has to its credit the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award for twelve consecutive years. Burgan Bank won the prestigious "Banking Web Awards" prize in the commercial and corporate Category for Kuwait. In 2010 Burgan Bank was awarded with the "Best Internet Banking Service award" from Banker Middle East Awards. Burgan Bank was recognized in 2011 as Kuwait's "Best Private Bank", by World Finance. The bank also won, in 2011, the coveted "International Platinum Star for Quality" award from Business Initiative Directions, and "The Best Technical Award" from Banking Web Awards. In 2012, Global Banking and Finance Review online magazine recognized Burgan Bank as the "Best Banking Group in the MENA" as well as the "Best Corporate Bank in Kuwait". The bank also won the coveted "Best Bank Branding" award by the Banker Middle East. For the second consecutive year in 2012, Burgan Bank also won World Finance's "Best Private Bank" award, as well as the "Best Private Bank in Kuwait" in 2012 and 2013 from Capital Finance International. The bank also won the "Best Bank in Kuwait" award from EMEA Finance, along with the "Deal of the Year" award from Acquisition International.

In 2013, Burgan Bank Group was named "MENA - Bank of the Year" by Acquisition Finance Magazine and "Best Banking Group in MENA" for the second consecutive year by Global Banking and Finance Review. The bank also won the coveted "Best Domestic Retail Bank of the Year" award from the Asian Banking and Finance Magazine. Moreover, Burgan Bank also picked up the "Best Private Bank in Kuwait" for the 3rd consecutive year by Capital Finance International followed by the "Best Employee Development in GCC" award from World Finance.  In 2014, Burgan Bank won the coveted 'Best Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year" award from the Asian Banking and Finance Magazine's Wholesale Banking Awards 2014 and the 'Best Investor Relations in GCC' award from World Finance, one of the world's leading financial publications. The bank also bagged the "Best Private Bank in Kuwait 2014" award from Capital Finance International for the fourth consecutive year.

Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), is a strongly positioned regional Bank in the MENA region. 

© Press Release 2015