Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region has been ranked the ‘Strongest Bank in the UAE’ by the prestigious Asian Banker’s ‘AB 500 Strongest Banks in 2016.’

The bank, the largest in the UAE, was rated highly for its sound growth record and its giant leaps in the digitisation of banking over the past year.

Furthermore, Emirates NBD was named third ‘Strongest Bank in the Middle East’ and recognised for its exceptional financial performance along with improvements in balance sheet growth and capitalisation.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, vice chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD said: “To achieve the title of the ‘Strongest Bank in the UAE’ by an internationally recognised and trusted institution such as The Asian Banker is a big honour for us. Maintaining a steady growth in the UAE and staying headstrong in the current market was the key focus for us this year. We are extremely happy that our financially sound and progressive policies have enabled us to achieve nothing short of outstanding fiscal results this year.”

The Asian Banker Strongest Banks is an annual assessment of the financial and business performance of the commercial banking industry in the Asia Pacific region, ranking top performing banks in each country by strength, based on a belief that a strong bank demonstrates long-term profitability from its core businesses. Winners are determined using a scorecard approach based on six performance indicators: Balance sheet growth, Risk profile, Profitability, Asset quality and Liquidity, rated on a zero –five scale.

At the award ceremony held in Geneva, Switzerland, Emirates NBD was commended for its strides in the digitisation of banking, including the launch of Emirates NBD Future Lab, a strategic think tank and a testing center for innovative ideas and the recent opening of the bank’s futuristic banking space at Emirates Towers.

“Innovation in banking solutions has always been one of our core strengths, backed by our Dh500 million ($136 million) commitment to further the use of digital technology in banking and payments. We are optimistic that our solid financial and operating performance, along with our leadership in digital banking innovation will continue to strengthen our position in the regional banking sector,” added Al Qassim. – TradeArabia News Service