Emirates NBD named “Best Retail Bank in the UAE” by Asian Banker

Press release

Published March 27th, 2013 - 11:08 GMT

Al Bawaba

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today that it had been named the “Best Retail Bank in the UAE” by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme. Suvo Sarkar, General Manager, Retail Banking, Emirates NBD, received the award on behalf of the bank during an award ceremony held in Seoul, South Korea, on 21st of March 2013.

Emirates NBD has been recognised as the outstanding retail financial services provider by demonstrating a long-term, sustainable and profitable franchise with the customer as its core proposition. Over 160 retail financial institutions from the Asia Pacific, Central Asia, the Gulf region and Africa participated in the competition. This is the second time Emirates NBD has won the award. National Bank of Dubai (NBD), one of the component banks of Emirates NBD, was recognised in 2007, prior to announcing its merger with Emirates Bank International (EBI) in the same year.

“We are extremely pleased to win this award, recognizing Emirates NBD as the UAE’s Best Retail Bank. It represents international recognition of our success in raising the benchmark of performance for banks in the region. It is also a testament to our commitment to developing and delivering a full suite of innovative, value-added retail products and services,” Sarkar said. “It is of particular significance to us, as it is based on the real operational issues at play in our rapidly expanding banking industry in the UAE.

“The Emirates NBD Group has a leading retail banking franchise in the UAE which is growing at a double-digit rate across its various segments. Whether it is the SMEs business, the cards business, personal banking or the affluent segment, improving the customer experience across all channels is our key focus this year,” he added.

Emirates NBD’s revenue from Consumer Banking & Wealth Management represented 43% percent of the Group total in 2012 and grew by 12% percent to 4.37 billion dirhams. The bank aims to further boost its revenue from retail business by as much as 10 percent this year, driven mainly by its SMEs business as well as growth in personal banking products like credit cards and wealth management.

Throughout 2012, Emirates NBD enhanced its retail banking business with special offers on products such as personal loans and auto loans. The bank also launched the Emirates NBD Dnata World MasterCard credit card and Go4it, the RTA co-branded debit card, while at the same time upgrading its mobile banking and Internet banking platforms.

The Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme, a research-based programme that rates the best retail institutions, products and processes, was instituted in 2001. It covers three main categories: the Best Retail Banks by country, Excellence in Products and Processes Awards, and the Retail Banker of the Year Award.

Background Information

Emirates NBD

Emirates NBD, the leading banking group in the region, was formed on 19 June 1963, when H.H. Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum signed the Charter of Incorporation of the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) which became the first National Bank established in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the blessings of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, NBD merged with Emirates Bank International (EBI) on 06 March 2007, to form Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the region by assets. On 16 October 2007, the shares of Emirates NBD were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The merger between EBI and NBD to create Emirates NBD, became a regional consolidation blueprint for the banking and finance sector as it combined the second and fourth largest banks in the UAE to form a banking champion capable of delivering enhanced value across corporate, retail, private, Islamic and investment banking throughout the region.