30 November 2016

Dubai: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, was named ‘Banking and Finance Company of the Year’ at the prestigious Arabian Business Achievement Awards held yesterday (Monday, November 28, 2016). The bank was recognised for its pioneering efforts toward the digitisation of banking as well as its resilient performance in the past year.

The Arabian Business Achievement Awards are adjudicated by an independent judging panel consisting of some of the Middle East’s top businessmen. The awards seek to recognise and reward outstanding corporate leadership across a range of sectors, with nominations drawn from across the Gulf and wider Middle East region, based on business activity over the past 12 months.

The ‘Bank of the Year’ award was received by Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD. Al Qassim commented, “We are honoured to be recognised as the Bank of the Year in the UAE. Our financial performance continues to remain strong in a challenging economic environment due to our solid foothold in the UAE and sound growth strategy. In addition, the bank has made bold strides this year towards transforming the banking experience for our wholesale and retail customers. Our investment in digital innovation has led to many firsts in the banking sector, including a pilot blockchain network for international remittances and trade finance and a futuristic banking space at Jumeirah Emirates Towers that combines artificial intelligence, 24/7 digital banking and personalised advisory services to create the blueprint for banking in the future. “

The recognition at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards is the latest in a series of accolades received by the bank. Earlier this year, Emirates NBD became the first bank in the UAE and the Middle East to win in three categories of the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2016: Best Bank in the Middle East, Best Bank in the UAE and Best Digital Bank in the Middle East. Emirates NBD was also named Bank of the Year – Middle East 2015’ by The Banker; Banking Company of the Year’ at the 2016 Gulf Business Industry Awards; Best Consumer Digital Bank in Middle East and Africa’ in the UAE and ‘Best Mobile Banking App’ Middle East and Africa, for the second year running, in addition to being named ‘Best in Mobile Banking’ for Middle East and Africa at Global Finance’s Best Digital Bank Awards.

Ratings agency Moody’s recently upgraded the bank’s long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings to A3 and its baseline credit assessment (BCA) to ba1. In addition to the bank's strong funding and liquidity profile, the upgrade reflected the bank's improved loan quality, and its higher loss-absorption buffers.

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About Emirates NBD:

Emirates NBD is a leading banking Group in the region. As at 30th September 2016, total assets were AED 446 Billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 121 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 more than 220 branches and over 955 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. Ratings agency Moody’s recently upgraded the bank’s long-term deposit and senior unsecured ratings to A3 and its baseline credit assessment (BCA) to ba1. In addition to the bank's strong funding and liquidity profile, the upgrade reflected the bank's improved loan quality, and its higher loss-absorption buffers.

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 initiatives and of the various educational, environmental, cultural, charity and community welfare establishments.

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 2016