Bahrain-based Seera Investment, a Sharia-compliant bank, has won the 'Fastest Growing Bank in Bahrain' award at a ceremony held in Dubai by Banker Middle East.

This is the second consecutive year Seera is winning the award, which is based on the analysis of key measures such as assets, liabilities, total income, return on assets and net profit and their growth.

The result is a ranking for each institution across key performance indicators, recognising the top performer as the best performing bank in the country.

According to CPI Financial, which announced the award, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards, now in its 10th year, is completely transparent and a genuine and objective representation of the best performing banks in the Middle East.

"Seera Investment Bank has shown exceptional growth yet again across all measures that we study to assess the best performing banks throughout the Middle East," remarked CPI Financial chief operations officer Adam Broom.

"To achieve consistent growth over a sustained period is evidence of an excellent bank strategy. We are pleased to be able to recognise them as a leading institution in Bahrain and the GCC," he said.

"We are pleased to receive this award and believe that it is a recognition of Seera's strong performance," said the company's chief executive Abdulla Janahi.

"The award was based on the comprehensive analysis of the bank's results, lending a great deal of credibility to this recognition and reinforcing our belief in Seera's very sound business.

"Seera has won this award for the second year in a row. In today's challenging economic environment, it really matters that a bank is able to consistently deliver strong performance and show a resilient balance sheet," he stated.

The award follows Seera reporting a net income exceeding $70 million for 2011 as a result of the strong performance of its investment business.

"Seera's financial results and balance sheet are a testament to the soundness of the bank's portfolio, especially in light of the difficult conditions following the financial crisis," said Janahi.

"We believe that we have been quite successful in managing our portfolio through the crisis, a belief which has been validated by the strong recovery in the performance of portfolio companies," he added.-TradeArabia News Service