Two months of intense competition, careful selection, and a record number of online votes, culminated last night in the announcement of winners of the 2007 Banker Middle East Industry Awards. Held under the patronage of Qatar Petroleum, the Awards were presented by His Excellency Dr Mohammed Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of State for Energy and Industry Affairs in Qatar.
The Awards ceremony in Doha brought together 400 top executives from financial institutions from across the region to celebrate excellence in the industry. The annual event, running for its eighth year, is considered to be one of the most prominent events in the finance industry in the Gulf region.
“The finance industry in the Gulf continues to grow and advance at rates unseen in other parts of the world,” said Paul McNamara, Managing Editor, CPI Financial, organiser of the event. “And in parallel, every year we see a reflection of the sector’s progress in the Banker Middle East Industry Awards, with a greater range of top performing companies to shortlist, and heightened interest from financial institutions and the business community at large. This year was no different, with a record number of online votes received through the awards website.”
Sixteen awards were presented to financial institutions from across the Gulf countries, with NBK (National Bank of Kuwait) winning the ‘Best Bank’ prize while Abraaj Capital was singled out with an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’. In addition, outstanding individuals from the finance industry were honoured through the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award, which was presented to HE Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Chairman of Emirates Bank, while R. Seetharaman, Deputy CEO of Doha Bank was given the ‘Banker of the Year’ title.
The awards are widely considered as a benchmark of excellence in the banking industry, and are held in a different country within the Gulf every year to reflect the regional character of the awards. Nominees for the awards were short listed from hundreds of banks in the region by a judging panel, comprising specialists from organisations such as rating agencies and consulting companies. Winners were then determined through online voting on the awards webpage www.cpifinancial.net.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
- Best bank - NBK
- Best retail bank - Gulf Bank
- Best investment bank - Gulf Finance House
- Best Islamic bank - Dubai Islamic Bank
- Best Islamic finance house - Investment Dar
- Best commercial bank - Doha Bank
- Best foreign bank - Credit Suisse
- Best private bank - Bank Sarasin-Alpen
- Best private equity house - Istithmar
- Best project finance house - HSBC Bank Middle East
- Best asset management house – The National Investor
- New product innovation award - Unicorn Investment Bank
- Best advertising/marketing campaign – Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
- Best new bank - Addax Investment Bank
- Best use of technology - Blom Bank
- Lifetime achievement award - HE Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, chairman of Emirates Bank
- Banker of the year – R. Seetharaman, deputy CEO, Doha Bank
- Banker Middle East Outstanding Contribution to the industry Award – Abraaj Capital
About Banker Middle East Awards and Magazine
Banker Middle East holds a unique place in the reading diet of leading bankers throughout the entire Middle East. For over six years Banker Middle East has been the indispensable monthly source of information and insight for key executives in retail banks, commercial banks, investment banks and central banks. Over the years the industry has matured with the development of new financial centres, the rise of private equity and the boom in Islamic banking. Banker Middle East has chronicled and offered insights on all these major developments and many more besides. Today Banker Middle East stands as the undisputed 'insider' in the Middle Eastern banking scene - its arrival eagerly anticipated each month by the chairmen, CEOs, MDs, CFOs, CIOs, COOs of every leading bank in the region.
