Dubai Islamic Bank Group CEO receives “Best Strategic Vision” Award at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2016

The Bank also lauded with four additional noteworthy accolades of “Best Islamic Bank”; “Best Sukuk Arranger”; “Best Islamic Retail Bank” and “Best Islamic Corporate Bank”

Dubai, UAE; May 18, 2016: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has once again been recognised for its progressive and customer focused approach to banking services at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2016. In addition to winning “Best Islamic Bank”; “Best Sukuk Arranger”; and “Best Islamic Retail Bank” for the second year in a row, DIB also won the accolade for “Best Islamic Corporate Bank” for the first time. A testament to the tremendous transformation the bank has witnessed under his leadership, Dr. Adnan Chilwan, DIB’s Group CEO, was recognised with the prestigious “Best Strategic Vision” award during the ceremony attended by many of the leaders and prominent personalities in the Middle East financial circle.

The Banker Middle East Industry Awards recognise the best performing financial institutions in the region across a range of categories. Organised by publisher CPI Financial on an annual basis, the winners are chosen by financial services professionals, the readers of Banker Middle East and the website’s registered users base. With thousands of votes cast each year, the BME awards are amongst the most coveted and sought after in the industry. 

Commenting on the awards, Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO, DIB said. “Strategic vision, in my mind, requires two key ingredients – the ability to dream, and the faith and belief in yourself to realize them. That is how you inspire others to believe in you and that is how you transform organizations.”

“I am truly honoured to receive the award for the “Best Strategic Vision”,” he continued.  “Dubai Islamic Bank, which I am so fortunate to lead has come a long way from its humble beginnings just four decades ago to where it stands today as one of the largest banks in the country. But the transformation DIB has witnessed over the recent past has been spectacular to say the least. This I owe to my entire team to whom I am truly grateful for supporting me in making DIB a household name in the local banking sector and the international Islamic finance industry.”

The core foundation for the bank’s success and growth has been its large base of consumers. Boasting over 1.5 million customers and over 90 branches in the country, this is the second consecutive time DIB has been singled out for its efforts in this area. The bank recently won awards for “Best Car Finance” and “Best Online Service” at the recent Banker Middle East Product Awards 2016.

Commenting on the “Best Islamic Retail Bank” award, Sanjay Malhotra, Chief of Consumer Banking, said: “One factor that has set us apart from other banks is our unflinching focus on innovating our products and services to cater to the evolving requirements of our retail base. Indicative of our efforts, we recently launched four Wakala deposit product variants that provide our customers unique savings solutions and competitive profit rates unmatched elsewhere in the industry. Additionally, in recognition of the growing uptake of digital platforms, our “Smart Banking” initiative provides customers an unparalleled banking experience.”

Since returning to growth in 2014, DIB’s corporate banking has nearly doubled its financing book in two years. In addition to developing innovative facilities for large institutions, DIB has led the way in the region in arranging landmark transactions and was the recipient of seven Islamic Finance News Deals of the Year Awards.

Naveed Ali, Chief of Corporate Banking, added: “Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, our ability to leverage our heritage, expertise and relationships to create unrivalled offerings and arrange unique deals for corporates and governments alike showcases the success of our proposition. The bank’s own capital market issuances also demonstrate our ongoing appeal to a diverse set of international investors, and the accolades for “Best Islamic Corporate Bank” and “Best Sukuk Arranger” are a doubtless validation of our efforts.”

The accolades cap a successful year for DIB in 2015, when its profits grew 37% to reach AED 3.83 billion, and it received recognition from across the industry for its efforts in progressing the expansion of Islamic banking globally.