National Bank of Fujairah consistently voted best corporate and commercial bank in the UAE at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards
Bank validates leadership position by retaining corporate and commercial bank awards for two and five years respectively
National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) PJSC announced today that it has won the “Best Corporate Bank UAE” and “Best Commercial Bank UAE” awards at the 2016 Banker Middle East Industry Awards. This latest victory at the BME awards marks the second year that NBF has retained the best local corporate bank trophy, and more impressively, defended its best domestic commercial bank title for five years in a row.
Organised by CPI Financial, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards is an annual platform celebrating the best in financial services across the region, with winners selected through public voting.
NBF’s corporate and institutional banking (C&IB) division has been the driving force behind the bank’s success. The bank’s multidisciplinary client servicing model has seen C&IB expand into diverse industry and customer segments over the years, from oil and gas to Emirati women entrepreneurs, and leverage its award-winning specialisations from treasury, trade finance and corporate advisory to provide bespoke and innovative business solutions.
Since 2012, C&IB has consistently maintained compound annual growth rates of close to 20 per cent for its assets and operating income respectively. It has also financed major projects such as the development of HSBC and Standard Chartered’s office buildings in downtown Dubai as well as the construction of IKEA’s largest distribution centre in the Middle East. NBF was also the sole financier for Arabtec Holding’s AED 1.7 billion housing project that will see the engineering and construction group build 1,100 villas for UAE Nationals in Mohamed Bin Zayed City, Fujairah.
NBF was also one of the first banks in the UAE to establish a crack team specialising in SMEs and has since earned a reputation for being a steadfast partner for small and mid-sized companies in good times and bad. An integral part of C&IB, the bank’s business banking unit today boasts close to 2,500 companies in its portfolio and has also consistently delivered double-digit growth for its loan book.
NBF’s best corporate and commercial bank titles come shortly after it was ranked amongst the 50 most successful companies in the GCC by Trends, a regional current affairs magazine, in conjunction with Insead Business School and the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance. Trends arrived at its annual shortlist of top companies by scrutinising the financial and operational data of over 700 publicly-listed companies in the GCC. The bank also scooped up four awards at the BME Product Awards: “Best Customer Service - Corporate & Investment Banking”; “Best Cash Management”; “Best Treasury Management” and “Best Corporate Advisory Service” for NBF Capital Limited, a fully-owned subsidiary.
NBF CEO Vince Cook said: “The first half of the year has seen NBF prevail over a challenging operating environment to maintain a strong growth momentum, and as these two awards amply demonstrate, continue to make a difference to our customers. It is indeed a tremendous honour to be held in such high regard year after year, and I have no doubt that this show of support will further inspire the bank to greater success in the future.
“On behalf of NBF, I would like to thank our customers and partners for their trust in us and support over the years, without which the bank would not be where it is today.”
About National Bank of Fujairah PJSC:
Incorporated in 1982, National Bank of Fujairah PJSC (NBF) is a full services corporate bank with strong corporate and commercial banking, treasury and trade finance expertise as well as an expanding suite of personal banking options and Shariah compliant services. Leveraging its deep banking experience and market insight within Fujairah and the UAE, NBF is well-positioned to build lasting relationships with its clients and help them achieve their business goals.
NBF’s key shareholders include the Government of Fujairah, Easa Saleh Al Gurg LLC and Investment Corporation of Dubai. Rated Baa1 / Prime-2 for deposits and A3 for counterparty risk assessment by Moody’s and BBB+ / A-2 by Standard & Poor’s, both with a stable outlook, the bank is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange under the symbol “NBF”. It has a branch network of 15 across the UAE.