Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has won seven prestigious awards from EMEA Finance Magazine at the fifteenth edition of the Middle East Banking Industry Awards 2022, in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the Islamic finance industry and its leading role in the Sukuk market, innovation of financing solutions and products, and its successful acquisition of AUB-Bahrain.
KFH won “Best Islamic finance house”, “Best financial Institution Sukuk” for Dubai Islamic Bank’s USD $750mn Sukuk Deal, “Best financial institution Sukuk (US $500 MN)” for First Abu Dhabi Bank’s US $500mn Sukuk Deal, “Best sovereign Sukuk” for Republic of Türkiye’s US $3bn 5-year Sukuk Deal, “Best supernational Sukuk” for Islamic Development Bank’s US $1.6bn Sukuk Deal, “Most innovative Sukuk” for PD His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalid Al Nahyan, “Best Financial Institution M&A Deal” for Kuwait Finance House’s acquisition of Ahli United Bank.
The EMEA Finance Awards are among the most important awards in the banking sector in Europe, Middle East and Africa region, which aim to honor banking institutions based on their financial performance, standards of service quality, and excellence in the banking sector. The prestigious financial magazine awards are based on basic criteria in the process of selecting the best banks, including the bank's market share, the growth of its products in the market, profitability, in addition to the quality of its business strategy, contributions, its role in the debt market, and innovation in products and services.
KFH General Manager Treasury Kuwait, Ahmad Al-Sumait said that winning these awards affirms that KFH has contributed to developing the Islamic finance industry and supporting the financing needs of companies.
He added that KFH's participation in arranging and issuing Sukuk to governments and financial institutions confirms its long-standing reputation, global confidence, and prestigious position in international markets, in addition to its extensive experience in innovating financial solutions and instruments that are in line with the highest international standards and meet the needs of customers in the Islamic finance industry.
Al-Sumait added that KFH's acquisition of AUB Bahrain resulted in the establishment of a huge banking entity through KFH's transformation into the largest bank in Kuwait and the second largest Islamic bank in terms of assets in the world which enabled the bank to consolidate its leadership in the Islamic banking industry and contributed to expanding its geographical reach with stronger capabilities.
Meanwhile, CEO of KFH Capital, the investment arm of KFH, Abdulaziz Al-Marzouq, expressed his happiness at winning five Sukuk awards, and said that KFH has a long history in developing the debt market, which made the bank at the forefront of Islamic financial institutions.
He explained that KFH has a key role in the primary market for Sukuk issuances in addition to its primary role as a market maker, especially since Sukuk as Shariah-compliant financing instruments allow companies to enter the capital markets directly.
It is worth noting that the British financial magazine "EMEA Finance" covers the most prominent financial markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa through specialized reports and analysis by a team of experts, analysts, and economists.