Award ceremony held during IMF & World Bank meetings in Washington

KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank has continued its local achievements and followed the journey it started before many years by being named the Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait in 2019 by Global Finance for the 4th year in a row due to the growth witnessed by the various indicators of the bank as well as the growth of its market shares.

The ceremony was held in Washington during IMF and World Bank's meetings where the bank's CEO & Vice Chairman, Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, received the award along with many of the bank's officers who attended the grand ceremony held for this occasion.

Commenting on this special achievement, Al-Majed stated: "Thanks to Allah, the Almighty, we have made this achievement which is attributed to the Grace of Allah, the Almighty, in the first place, then to the efforts of our great human resources, the trust of our shareholders and customers in what we have been doing since many years. The bank takes pride in its record of awards and recognition that have been received in the recent years, especially as they come from regional and global institutions that are renowned for their fairness and the credibility of their choices which are based on numbers, financial results, and market achievements."

Al-Majed went on to add: "Such global recognitions put more responsibilities on the management to commit to the remarkable service levels we provide to our customers. We believe that creativity and innovation are the way to continue in our path of success."

Award-winning criteria
In its report about the selection criteria for choosing Boubyan, Global Finance stated that the bank managed during relatively short periods to make great leaps in growing its financial indicators, especially its market shares, in one of the most competitive markets in the region. Boubyan Bank already announced KD 45 million in net profits until September, at a growth rate of 12 percent compared with the comparative period of the past year, while the earning per share amounts to 15.25 fils compared with 14.20 fils for the comparative period of 2018. All of the Bank's main indicators witnessed a remarkable growth until September 2019 where the total assets increased to KD 5 billion at a growth rate of 18 percent while the operating income increased to register KD 109 million at a growth rate of 4 percent in addition to the increase in customers' deposits by 14 percent, to reach KD 4.1 billion.

The total equity of the bank increased to KD 567 million compared with KD 396 million last year and there was a notable increase in the financing portfolio up to KD 3.6 billion with a growth rate of 14 percent in addition to the continuous growth of the bank's customers' base.

The market share, in financing, increased generally to approximately 9 percent in the meantime, while Boubyan Bank's share of the retail finance increased specifically to approximately 12 percent. Besides, the bank recorded outstanding growth rates in the corporate credit portfolio which stood at 16 percent. This was achieved by attracting a number of operational companies known for their financial and economic creditworthiness while continuing to maintain the highest standards of credit quality, studying and diversifying risks. Speaking of corporate services, Al-Majed added "Boubyan Bank is aspiring to be the bank of choice for corporate customers. To this end, we have successfully managed to launch a number of innovative and remarkable digital products and services introduced for the first time in the local market in line with the bank's plan to cater for all the banking needs and requirements in compliance with the provisions of the Noble Islamic Sharia."

The bank's Corporate Banking Group recorded good growth rates in its corporate credit portfolio which stood at 17 percent in 2018 by attracting a number of operational companies known for their financial and economic creditworthiness while continuing to maintain the highest standards of credit quality.

2019 Awards
This year, Boubyan received more than 20 remarkable awards, the most prominent of which has been received from Global Finance which named Boubyan the Best Islamic Digital Bank in the Middle East. Additionally, the bank received another four awards, namely, the Best Islamic Digital Bank in Kuwait, the Best Mobile Banking App in Kuwait, the Most Innovative Digital Bank in Kuwait, and the Best Innovation in IMAL Technology.
Furthermore, the Noor Boubyan Initiative for eyesight-restoration operations in Africa was named the Best Social Humanitarian Initiative at the GCC level, and the bank received the GCC's Award for the "Replacement and Nationalization of Manpower in Kuwait".

Al-Majed went on to add: "Since creativity and innovation represent two main pillars in Boubyan Bank's business model, we have been constantly keen over the past years on enhancing our innovation and our services extended to customers. To maintain its edge in the market, Boubyan Bank continued offering new and innovative banking products and services in addition to improving existing ones."

"Boubyan maintains the highest standards upon offering products in a comfortable and innovative manner that befits the needs of customers whether in terms of technology or traditional ways of banking. Through our care, persistence and dedication to work, we managed to achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction.", he concluded.