Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has received “Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait” and “Best Islamic Bank for ESG- global category 2023” awards from Euromoney magazine during the annual Euromoney Awards for Excellence ceremony held in Dubai.

The two awards came in recognition of KFH's contributions, prominent standing and leadership in the Islamic finance and banking industry locally and globally, its digital services and products, in addition to its outstanding efforts in deploying environmental, social and governance practices (ESG) in all banking business and activities.

Euromoney used a series of criteria -including core banking activities, diversified and comprehensive financing services, solvency, performance indicators, innovation, bank size and its ability to achieve sustainable growth, address market conditions, meet the needs of its customers, technological development, and digital transformation achievements.

On the occasion of receiving the two awards, KFH Acting Group CEO, Abdulwahab Iesa Al Rushood, said that KFH's performance has been exceptional recently following the acquisition of AUB-Bahrain, which is among the largest M&As announced last year. The transaction transformed KFH to the largest bank in Kuwait and the second largest Islamic bank in the world with assets of roughly KD 36.9 billion, as well as a market capitalization that is the largest among all private sector companies with a value of about KD 11 billion.

He added that KFH Group is characterized by its robust competitiveness, large market share, and geographical diversity in various strategic markets, in addition to continuing its vital role in financing development projects, keeping pace with digitization, and adopting ESG standards in all activities.

Al Rushood stressed that the awards recently received by KFH reflect the determined steps taken by the bank in strengthening its leading position in the local and global banking industry, continuing digitalization roadmap, focusing on growth, maintaining credit quality, managing costs, strengthening relationships with customers, and investing in the bank's employees.

Meanwhile, Executive Manager Governance and Sustainability at KFH, Mohammad Alarbeed said that:” Sustainability is a priority for KFH. As in January 2023, the Bank partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to set solid standards for sustainable development goals for Sharia-compliant finance, especially in green finance”.

He added that KFH launched the (Keep it Green) campaign to serve as an umbrella for all KFH sustainability initiatives. In a testament to its successful environmentally friendly initiatives, KFH Auto showroom won the GSAS Gold Level Sustainability Assessment System Certificate, the first-of-its-kind in Kuwait.

Alarbeed pointed out that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed earlier with UNDP will establish stronger alignments with the sustainable development goals across the Bank, as the UNDP provides technical support to facilitate investments through key tools such as the SDGs, and the Green Finance Framework.

Euromoney awards are designed to reputable institutions based on an evaluation by a team of editors, journalists, and researchers, which analyzes Euromoney's research and market data, before a jury of experts decides on the award-winning banks.

Euromoney is a well-known magazine in the financial and business sector. It covers capital markets, investment, foreign exchange, and treasury, with a particular focus on several key regional markets, as well as publishing analysis on international capital markets.