Bank of the Year Awards 2024 – Middle East

Below are the individual country winners for the Middle East. Congratulations to all of those who received awards this year.

Bahrain

Al Salam Bank

In one of the most competitive categories in the Middle East, Al Salam Bank is this year’s winner of the Bank of the Year for Bahrain award. In addition to a strong financial performance, the judges were impressed with the bank’s key acquisitions at home and abroad and its early results with AI. 

In May 2024, Al Salam Bank completed the acquisition of Kuwait Finance House’s assets in Bahrain, the fifth M&A transaction it has been involved in in recent years. The consolidation of KFH Bahrain increased the bank’s balance sheet by 28 per cent, in addition to accelerating its market share acquisition and enhancing its overall offerings.

The KFH deal followed on from Al Salam Bank increasing its shareholding in its Algerian subsidiary from 37.43 per cent to 53.13 per cent in June 2023. 

Beyond the acquisitions, Al Salam Bank impressed the judges with its deployment of AI technology across its financing solutions. The bank launched a digital financing top-up feature, enabling the bank to provide top-ups on existing facilities in a fully digital manner. In the first month of the launch, the bank reported more than 77 successful applications without human intervention, totaling more than BD850,000 ($2.26mn). 

In December 2023, the bank recorded the first AI-instigated asset sale in its history, in which the AI model was able to identify the ideal opportunity for the client and successfully execute the transaction. 

Jordan

Arab Bank

Arab Bank has regained its title as Bank of the Year for Jordan for 2024. The country’s largest lender — and the judges’ choice for overall winner for the Middle East — takes the crown thanks to a strong financial performance and a series of impressive achievements in the digital banking space. 

The Arab Bank Group achieved solid financial results for 2023, registering a 52 per cent rise in profits, an improvement in its cost-to-income ratio, and an 8 per cent increase in Tier 1 capital, following a slight slip in 2022. Return on equity rose from 5.2 per cent to 7.3 per cent during the period. 

The bank has a long history of being a pioneer in the digital banking space, and the past year has been no exception. A key milestone has been the foundation of Acabes, an in-house fintech development facility with operations in Jordan, Dubai and India. 

Among the early initiatives of Acabes, which had onboarded nearly 450 employees by end-2023, are Omnify, the first of its kind banking application-programming interface platform in Jordan, designed for banking-as-a-service and more for selected markets in the Midde East and north Africa region. The platform, which won the Open Banking award in The Banker’s Innovation in Digital Banking Awards earlier this year, allows partner companies to offer embedded financial products for their own customers by utilising banking APIs from Arab Bank and beyond.

Kuwait

Kuwait Finance House

In a tight contest, Kuwait Finance House has been crowned Bank of the Year for Kuwait for the second year running. In addition to a 55 per cent rise in profits for the year, the judges were impressed with the launch in late 2023 of Tam Bank, the country’s first sharia-compliant digital banking brand, aimed at younger customers. 

The Tam Bank brand experienced higher-than-expected growth in 2024, thanks in no small part to the social media-driven invite-a-friend initiative. The brand has also achieved success with its prepaid card offering, which is applied for online and is customisable via various digital skins. Additional features include the ability to freeze and unfreeze the card easily, and detailed transaction classification functionality for better financial management.

Among the bank’s other milestones during the review period was the launch of a new customer service centre in Kuwait for Kuveyt Türk, the bank’s Turkish subsidiary. Opened in October 2023, the centre serves around 70 customers per day, offering support for Kuveyt Türk customers, such as amending customer information and reactivating mobile channels.

On the sustainability front, KFH last year launched its “sustainable financing of green products” campaign, aiming to promote environmentally friendly construction practices among private homeowners. 

Receiving the award “reiterates KFH’s leadership in the Islamic banking industry and confirms its significant role in providing innovative banking solutions and services that contribute to expanding operations and increasing customer satisfaction,” says the bank’s acting group CEO, Abdulwahab Al Rushood.

Oman

Sohar International Bank

In a very competitive category, the Bank of the Year award for Oman goes to Sohar International Bank, in recognition of its strong financial performance, its acquisition of HSBC Oman and a series of digital milestones.

The country’s second-largest lender by assets, Sohar International closed the acquisition of HSBC Oman in August 2023, two months after the merger was approved by the banks’ shareholders. The deal increases Sohar International’s market share by 50 per cent, and its market coverage by 118 per cent, with an 80 per cent increase in its workforce.

The acquisition saw the bank’s asset base increase by 62 per cent in 2023, with return on equity rising from 7.3 per cent at end-2022 to 11.1 per cent. Non-performing loans continued to drift lower, even as costs rose.

“Earning the title of ‘Bank of the Year for Oman’ reaffirms Sohar International’s steadfast commitment to driving sustainable growth and advancing financial innovation,” says the bank’s chief executive officer Ahmed Al Musalmi. 

“This recognition reflects our proactive approach to meeting evolving market needs and our dedication to delivering impactful, customer-cantered solutions that align with and support Oman’s economic vision for the future.”

Beyond its domestic expansion, the bank received a no-objection certificate from the Saudi Central Bank in early 2024, enabling it to open its first branch in the country in Riyadh.

On the product front, last year Sohar International enhanced its mobile app with a series of new financial and non-financial services under its My Life and My Goals categories, offering functionality including booking air travel tickets, making hotel reservations and purchasing gift vouchers.

Palestine

Arab Bank

For the first time ever, Arab Bank has been named as Palestine’s Bank of the Year. In the midst of terrible operational challenges since October 2023, Arab Bank has continued to roll out a series of innovative services for its customer base. 

Following on from its successful launch in Jordan, Arab Bank in 2023 launched its “Reflect” digital banking brand in collaboration with local telco Paltel. Since launch, Arab Bank has rolled out multiple updates to the app, including the introduction of the Reflect debit card, which provides 1 per cent cash back per month, credited as loyalty points, with offers of exclusive discounts at selected merchants. 

The bank has also extended its Arabi Next mobile app for small and medium-sized enterprises to its customers in Palestine. The app supports instant payment solutions for both local and international transfers, utility payments, and payroll management, thereby streamlining the financial operations of small and medium-sized businesses. It also provides users with the ability to digitally manage their documentation, which includes uploading, storing and accessing important business documents securely. 

In March of this year, Arab Bank launched digital onboarding for its existing Arabi Mobile app, enabling customers to open a bank account by entering the required information on the app and attaching the required documentation. Customers are also able to connect their existing Visa debit card to the new account without visiting a branch.

Qatar

Qatar National Bank

Qatar National Bank is the winner of Qatar’s Bank of the Year award for the first time since 2019, in recognition of a strong financial performance, a series of innovations on the payments front and the launch of its digital banking platform in Egypt. 

“This prestigious accolade underscores our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional banking services, driving innovation and addressing the evolving needs of our clients,” says QNB’s group CEO, Abdulla M Al Khalifa.

“At QNB, we are dedicated to excellence and remain steadfast in our mission to contribute to Qatar’s financial growth while setting new benchmarks in the banking industry.”

The Middle East’s largest lender by assets, QNB posted steady results for 2023, even as costs and non-performing loans increased slightly. Net profits rose by 8.1 per cent, with return on equity rising from 17.3 per cent to 17.7 per cent during the year. 

In October 2023, the bank announced the launch of the QNB Payment Gateway, the first locally established payment gateway in the country. The gateway provides merchants with a robust, highly advanced payment solution, with services including e-invoicing solutions, local and international digital wallets, online acceptance of QNB loyalty points, and online instalment plans for merchants.

Across the bank’s international footprint, a highlight was the launch of QNB Bebasata, the bank’s digital banking brand in Egypt, in early 2023. 

Alinma Bank

In the midst of strong competition from some of the kingdom’s largest lenders, Alinma Bank is the winner of this year’s Bank of the Year for Saudi Arabia, in recognition of its innovations in the digital banking space and several significant upgrades to its systems. 

Perhaps Alinma’s most significant achievement during the review period was the launch in May 2024 of “iz”, the bank’s youth-oriented digital banking platform. Beyond banking and card functionality, the platform offers features including bill splitting, personal and shared savings goals, and the “akthr” loyalty program, which allows users to earn points and gain access to exclusive discounts and rewards through in-app transactions.

The app signed up 90,000 customers and achieved around 180,000 downloads in the first month of its launch. 

Among a series of important technology updates the bank implemented during the period, the development of Alinma GPT stands out. The large language model-based code generation tool automates routine coding tasks, reduces errors, and ensures consistent code quality, while supporting rapid prototyping, documentation, and integration with existing systems while adhering to security and compliance standards. 

The bank also implemented IBM Safer Payment to improve fraud detection, as well as a new corporate loan origination system. 

Alinma recorded a 34 per cent increase in net profits for 2023, with return on equity rising to 17.2 per cent from 13.7 per cent in 2022. 

UAE

Emirates NBD

For the second consecutive year, Emirates NBD has fought off stiff competition to be awarded Bank of the Year for the UAE, in recognition of its excellent financial performance, growth in the key market of Saudi Arabia and strong product delivery pipeline. 

The largest bank in the UAE by Tier 1 capital, Emirates NBD saw net profits rise by 65 per cent in 2023, with return on equity increasing from 13 per cent to 21.5 per cent during the year. Of particular note was a drop in non-performing loans from 6 per cent to 4.6 per cent, thanks to strong recoveries with impairment allowances down by 33 per cent. 

On the product front, one of the highlights of the year was the full launch of ENBD X, the bank’s new mobile app, in September 2023. One of the app’s most significant new features was a new digital wealth platform, officially launched the following month, offering a wide range of investment options catering to diverse investment needs, including global and local securities and exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and fractional bonds.

The digital wealth platform launch followed the launch of Signature by Priority Banking, a tailored set of services, privileges and preferential pricing benefits for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, in April 2023, 

Emirates NBD’s presence in Saudi Arabia expanded significantly during 2023, with a 27 per cent increase in retail lending and the opening of the bank’s 15th local branch.