It seems fitting that the world’s first full-service Islamic bank is the winner of the award for the Middle East’s best Islamic bank. Since 1975, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has been steadily building what is now the second-largest Shariah-compliant banking business in the world by assets.
With total assets of $78.4 billion, the bank is competitive across the region in retail banking, treasury, investment banking and capital market products.
Led since 2013 by chief executive Adnan Chilwan, DIB has grown to have a presence in seven countries, including Indonesia, Kenya and Pakistan, and now has more than 10,000 employees.
The bank plays a big role in the region’s debt capital markets. Its share of sukuk investments rose to 24% in 2022, up from 14.2% in 2016. DIB has arranged around 145 large sukuk deals since 2014, handling more sovereign issues than all the other Islamic banks combined.
It is also the unrivalled leader in arranging environmental, social and governance (ESG) sukuk deals, having led 45 transactions with a value of more than $28 billion.
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