It was announced in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, the winning of Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President and Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) of the Global Islamic Finance Award (GIFA) as the Islamic Finance Personality of the 2017 for his pan-Islamic leadership role in Islamic banking and finance.

This came in a large and high level ceremony attended by Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti, government leaders, ministers, ambassadors and Islamic banking leaders around the world on 6th September 2017.

On the occasion of winning this global distinguished Award Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif  said: while I express my deep pride of this prestigious award, I consider this achievement is not personally to me, but also an achievement for the Kingdom of Bahrain, which devoted a long and rich experience in  Islamic and international banking field, that created favorable conditions for the emergence of banking leaders.

 It is also a testament to Al Baraka Banking Group’s Islamic banking approach, which is committed to provide products and services that make a real contribution in development of communities in which we operate within the framework of wise and prudent business strategies. I share all my colleagues in Al Baraka Banking Group and our units in this achievement and I consider it as recognition of their efforts."

GIFA, which is an annual event launched since 2011, is one of the most important international awards in the Islamic financial industry, and is awarded to outstanding institutions and individuals in this field. The core objective of GIFA is to instill a culture of social responsibility, promote business alignment with Islamic Shari'a, and commit to promoting the growth of Islamic finance and banking. Award winners will be selected following detailed independent research and extensive discussions to study the results objectively and accurately by an expert jury. The Global Islamic Finance Awards are based on an objective methodology with a registered ownership of Edbiz Consulting, to celebrate successful individuals and institutions in the Islamic financial services industry.

Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain, listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion. It is jointly rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) on the international scale and A+ (bh) (long term) / A2 (bh) (short term) on the national by Islamic International Rating Agency & Dagong Global Credit Rating Company Limited, and by Standard & Poor's at BB+ (long term) / B (short term).

Al Baraka offers retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorized capital of Al Baraka is US$ 1.5 billion, while total equity is at about US$ 2 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in fifteen countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700  branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.

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© Press Release 2017