Cambridge, UK - Cambridge IF Analytica, the world-renowned think tank for global financial markets, announced today the date for its third edition of Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA). The Stakeholders Committee chose Dubai as the host city of the third IRBA, after two successful awards ceremonies held therein in 2015 and 2016. This year’s award ceremony will take place on November 14, 2017, at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai.
There are two broad categories of awards presented by IRBA: Strongest Islamic Retail Banks and Critics’ Choice Awards.
The Strongest Islamic Retail Bank awards are based on a rigorous efficiency analysis undertaken by a panel of expert professors from the Ivy-League universities. These include the prestigious Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the World 2017, which will be presented to the number one bank in the global ranking of more than 170 Islamic banks drawn from a sample from Bankscope database. The efficiency analysis takes into account a number of factors contributing to cost effectiveness and productivity of Islamic banks.
The Critics’ Choice Awards are decided by a panel of experts who are drawn from the global Islamic financial services industry. The Critics’ Choice Awards accommodate those institutions and individuals who are not captured by the Bankscope data. These institutions include non-bank Islamic financial institutions and Islamic windows of conventional banks, which do not provide data to Bankscope. They also include the institutions whose data is not suitable for meaningful inter-bank comparisons. For example, our previous Critics’ Choice Award winners include Standard Chartered Bank and Albaraka Banking Group (winners of the Best Islamic Retail Banking Group 2015 and 2016 awards, respectively). These two groups have operations in a number of countries and own a number of banks. Hence, their comparison with individual Islamic banks makes less sense, and they are therefore included in the Critics’ Choice Awards.
“We have chosen 25 Islamic retails banks from our efficiency ranking, and they will be awarded Strongest Islamic Retail Bank awards in various categories,” said Dr. Sofiza Azmi, CEO of Cambridge IF Analytica. The Awards Committee approved a number of improvements in the methodology of the selection process. “According to the old selection criteria, if we had chosen the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the World from the Middle East, we would choose the second strongest Islamic retail bank from the region as the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the Middle East,” said Professor Humayon Dar, Chairman of Awards Committee. “From this year, we shall offer the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the World, the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the Continent, the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the Region, and the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in the Country to the same bank.”
The Awards Committee is expecting to present about 40 awards to the individuals, institutions and products drawn from all over the world.
Cambridge IF Analytica is also planning to organise a half-day High-Powered Islamic Retail Banking Summit in the morning of November 14, where 35-50 leaders in the Islamic retail banking will discuss critical issues facing the Islamic retail banking industry and the individual institutions in particular markets.
About Cambridge IF Analytica:
Cambridge IF Analytica is a UK-based think tank specialising in offering strategic advice in the field of financial services. The main activity of the firm is to conduct academically rigorous yet professionally relevant research for financial institutions, multilateral bodies and governments. It also organises an annual 5-day Cambridge Islamic Finance Leadership Programme (Cambridge-IFLP) at Clare College, University of Cambridge).
© Press Release 2017
