Noor Bank won the ‘Best Performing Bank – UAE’ award yesterday at the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) Performance Awards 2015. Dr. Ahmed Aljanahi, Deputy CEO, Noor Bank, received the prestigious award at the WIBC, which was held at the Gulf Hotel, Manama, Bahrain.
The award reflects the bank’s strong performance throughout the year. As a leading Shari’a compliant bank, Noor Bank witnessed a significant growth in balance sheet. Total assets increased by 34% to AED 38.9 billion compared with AED 29.0 billion at the end of 2014.
The bank posted a net profit of AED451 million, marking an increase of 43% from the same period last year. Customer financing increased by AED 5.5 billion during the first 9 months of 2015. While recording a growth in customer financing, the bank, which is rated “A-” IDR with a stable outlook by Fitch, has maintained one of the lowest advances to deposits ratio of 76% across UAE banking sector.
Speaking on the win, Hussain Al Qemzi, CEO, Noor Bank, said, “We are pleased to receive this award, which mirrors our impressive performance across various businesses this year. The bank has improved its capabilities to offer some of the best products in the market while maintaining our Shari’a compliant credence. This award sets the tone for a positive future at Noor Bank whilst we continue to pursue further success.”
Dr. Sayd Farook, Vice Chairman and CEO of Middle East Global Advisors, who organised the event, said, “We are delighted to announce that Noor Bank has surpassed all other Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, which speaks to the quality and dedication of the management team and their sincerity not only to perform well, but also do it on a sound and ethical basis. The WIBC Performance Awards are the most rigorous objective assessment and award in the Islamic finance industry based on a solid quantitative methodology.”
Noor Bank came out on top among the UAE Islamic banks based on the WIBC Leaderboard concept, the data for which has been collated from the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator and Bankscope. The awards are audited by Ernst and Young and assess Islamic banks across more than a dozen indicators of financial performance, financial stability, governance and social responsibility.
The World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) has been leading the way in Islamic financial services, establishing its reputation as the world’s largest and most influential annual gathering of Islamic finance industry leaders. The conference was attended by 1,300 delegates last year from across 50 countries and over 300 companies.