AHLI UNITED BANK NAMED ‘BEST BANK IN THE MIDDLE EAST 2009’ BY GLOBAL FINANCE MAGAZINE

Ahli United Bank has been named ‘Best Bank in the Middle East 2009’ by reputed New York-based banking publication Global Finance magazine. In addition, AUB was also recognized as the ‘Best Bank in Bahrain’.

This marks the fourth consecutive year AUB has won this prestigious accolade in Global Finance’s survey of “Best Emerging Markets Banks in the Middle East”, in yet another testimony to the Bank’s leading position across the Middle East.

“We are very pleased to be named best bank in the Middle East by the highly regarded Global Finance, as this award recognizes our continued efforts to achieve operational excellence and provide best in class products and services. As the banking industry continues to grapple with the ramifications of the global financial crisis, this award underlines the strong fundamentals of AUB franchise, which remains well placed to weather the current market conditions and deliver outstanding results to our stakeholders and valued customers,” said Fahad Al-Rajaan, Chairman, AUB.

This is the sixteenth year that Global Finance magazine, one of the banking sector’s leading publications, has selected top banking performers in emerging markets. For its annual surveys, Global Finance editors with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants select the best banks by region and by country, including 13 countries in the Middle East. Criteria for selecting the winners included growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products.

“We are in an unusually challenging environment for banks and their customers,” said Joseph Giarraputo, publisher of Global Finance. “More than ever, customers are demanding superior competence from their banking partners. These are the banks best providing that competence.”