Outstanding contribution to financial services: The Shoman family

awards-excellence-200pxa.gifVery few financial firms are as synonymous with one family as Arab Bank. Over three generations, the Shomans have built it up to become one of the foremost institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, with a presence in 30 countries and more than 500 branches spanning five continents.

Last year the bank posted a pre-tax profit of $782.8 million and total assets reached $50.6 billion.

The Arab Bank story begins nearly 20 years before it was founded, in 1911 when Abdul Hameed Shoman emigrated to the US with $32 in his pocket.