Best bank - National Bank of Kuwait
Best local partner - National Bank of Kuwait
Best debt house - Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley
Best M&A house - National Bank of Kuwait
There are several innovative Kuwaiti banks such as Kuwait Finance House that do interesting deals across the Gulf Cooperation Council states, but none can claim to have the home market as sewn up as National Bank of Kuwait. NBK, which managed to grow its market share for both corporate and retail products and is a leader in technology, is therefore the clear choice for both the best bank and best local partner in Kuwait awards.
It also wins the award for best M&A house in Kuwait for its work on advising MTC, the dominant Kuwaiti mobile telecom operator, on its $424 million acquisition of Jordanian mobile operator Fastlink in the biggest M&A deal in the Middle East over the past 12 months.
In addition to being the best bank in Kuwait, NBK is one of the best banks in the Middle East, having won the award last year and many times previously. Among the largest and most sophisticated in the region, it is also the highest-rated emerging-market bank, a reflection of its financial strength and solid business.