Commercial Bank of Dubai receives 'Islamic Bank of the Year' award

Attijari Al Islami, Commercial Bank of Dubai’s Islamic banking unit, has received the ‘Islamic Bank of the Year Award for the UAE 2013’ from ‘The Banker’ magazine, a banking and finance publication of the Financial Times, at the ‘FT Events – Islamic Financial Intelligence Summit’ held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The trophy was received by Nabil Tayeb Khoori, Head of Attijari Al Islami, and Jamal Al Matari, Head of Attijari Al Islami Branches, and was presented by Brian Caplen, Editor of The Banker Magazine. 

Peter Baltussen, CBD’s CEO, commented: “Our success is a reflection of the growth that the UAE’s economy has witnessed over the years, and we are proud to be part of the nation’s growth story. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the emirate has embarked on a three-year strategy to place itself firmly at the centre of the Dh30 trillion Islamic economy. Attijari Al Islami has clearly established itself as a market leader in providing structured Sharia’a-compliant banking products and services to its extensive corporate client base, and we will always be ready to play our role in national endeavours.”

He added: “This prestigious award conferred upon Attijari Al Islami bears testimony to the significant achievements that Commercial Bank of Dubai has made in Islamic banking. We are very excited about the pace of growth that Attijari Al Islami has achieved since its inception, and our Islamic customer base has expanded rapidly over the years.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for the confidence that they have imposed in us, and our Sharia’ah Board for their ethical and prudent guidance. At the same time, I dedicate this award to our committed staff, without whose loyalty and unstinting devotion, the Bank wouldn’t have achieved what we have managed to.”

Nabil Tayeb Khoori, Head of Attijari Al Islami at CBD said: “This award will encourage us further to do our best to expand our Sharia’ah-compliant portfolio of products and services, and help in our humble way to promote the establishment of Dubai as the leading player in global Islamic financial markets.” 

He added: “It is our mission to take Islamic banking and finance to new heights through an unwavering focus on innovation and the desire to deliver excellence in everything we do. This includes developing and offering a broad and integrated range of products and services that are in perfect harmony with Sharia’ah principles.”

The Banker awards the banks which have made the most progress over the 12 months hence the term, ‘Bank of the Year’. As Islamic banks continue to post impressive figures compared to their conventional counterparts, The Banker launches its inaugural awards aimed at celebrating this financial sector.

CBD has introduced innovative products and services to its commercial banking clients such as the ‘Mudaraba Tasdeer Finance’. For the consumer banking segment, the Bank introduced customised product bundles to build strong relationships and loyalty, through the ‘Absher Personal Finance’. In addition, the ‘Shahrazad Al Islami’ membership was introduced exclusively for the Ladies Banking segment.

A strong testament to the adoption of business excellence framework has been the string of awards and accolades that the Bank has won namely – Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award – Gold Category, Dubai Quality Award – Gold Category, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award and Sharjah Economic Excellence Award – Gold Category, to name a few.