Best bank: Al Salam Bank
Al Salam Bank enjoyed strong financial performance last year, while expanding its geographic footprint and innovating in the digital space. It is Euromoney’s best bank in Bahrain 2024.
Total assets grew by 32% in 2023 to BD5.15 billion ($13.7 billion) and profit before tax was up 60% on 2022, at BD52.7 million from BD33 million. This was mostly driven by the near doubling of income from BD95 million in 2022 to BD174 million in 2023 and a doubling of net fee and commission income.
Key milestones were met during the review period: the retail bank’s liability book exceeded BD1 billion for the first time, while transaction levels hit a million a day. The bank also saw volumes of BD1.4 million in ATM transactions and BD111 million in cash withdrawals.
Outside Bahrain, the bank announced the successful acquisition of a majority stake in Algeria’s fastest-growing bank – Al Salam Bank Algeria – increasing its shareholding from 37.43% to 53.13%.
The deal is the latest in a series of successful M&A transactions for the bank, which is led by group CEO Rafik Nayed. Recent deals include the merger with Bahraini Saudi Bank in 2011, the acquisition of BMI Bank in 2014, and the acquisition of Ithmaar Bank’s consumer banking business in 2022.
In the digital space, the bank made 175 system enhancements to satisfy business needs, improve user experience and meet regulatory and compliance requirements. Al Salam Bank’s mobile application is the highest-rated banking application in Bahrain on Apple Store, Google Play and Huawei AppGallery.
The bank reported a 236% increase in its mobile onboarding last year, over 2022.
Best investment bank: Sico
Sico is named the best investment bank in Bahrain this year, having worked on several high-profile deals. It closed the year on a high with Dallah Albaraka’s $84.3 million take-private offer for Islamic financial services provider Al Baraka Group in December. Sico acted as financial adviser to the offeror and receiving agent on the acquisition.
The bank worked with US-based hedge fund Callaway Capital Management to grow its position in Bahrain and acted as financial adviser to consortium Gulf Tamim on its acquisition of a stake in Arab Insurance Group for $11.7 million.
In June, Sico acted as sell-side financial adviser for Al Jazeera Tourism Company’s $26.5 million sale of the prominent beach-front hospitality asset Novotel Al Dana Resort to Gulf Hotels Group.
During the review period, the investment bank merged its subsidiary Sico Funds Services into the main parent company to integrate its securities services department, which covers Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
It also launched new products and services, including the Elzaad Sukuk Fund in partnership with Wafra International Investment Company, an investment firm backed by Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security.
Best international bank: Mashreq
Mashreq has solidified its position as a leading corporate bank in Bahrain this year. The bank advised on the government’s debut $1.5 billion syndicated loan and managed a $1 billion sukuk issuance for the ministry of finance and national economy.
Mashreq’s loan portfolio in Bahrain grew by 31% and it introduced more advanced cash and trade-management products, such as cash and notional pooling, as well as tiered interest-rate products.
Best digital bank: Bank ABC
Bank ABC’s recent internal transformation initiatives and growth in mobile banking make it the best digital bank in Bahrain this year.
A comprehensive infrastructure overhaul has been undertaken, consolidating core banking platforms across 15 units. The platform’s deployment on cloud infrastructure enhances scalability and improves cyber threat defences.
The transformation incorporates a unified dashboard that provides a 360-degree view of customer interactions.
The bank has also established the region’s first wholesale banking platform on the cloud. It has also launched a digital corporate onboarding service across 13 global units, reducing account opening times to under eight hours. This is supported by a cloud-native, client lifecycle-management solution.
In artificial intelligence, the bank has initiated its ABC AI Program to explore opportunities, including organising educational activities to raise awareness about the strategy.
The deployment of intelligent automation solutions across the bank has led to the automation of over 40,000 hours of manual work.
There has also been a substantial increase in digital usage in the retail banking segment.
Best bank for SMEs: Al Salam Bank
Al Salam Bank has enhanced its small and medium-sized enterprise offering through new products and strategic partnerships, driving operational efficiency. The bank is Bahrain’s best in SME banking this year.
Al Salam introduced digital kiosks across its operations, equipped with biometric and electronic know-your-customer authentication technologies. The kiosks provide onboarding, account openings, card management and personal information updates. They also feature video call support.
Additionally, the bank has launched Al Salam Takaful, an insurance package adhering to shariah principles. It offers SMEs takaful coverage for office, marine and group medical insurance.
The bank also formed strategic partnerships to serve SME clients. These include collaborations with the likes of Odoo, STC, AFS, Solidarity, Ottu, DocuSign and Grant Thornton.
One notable partnership is with Informa Markets, which positioned the bank as the exclusive banking institution at exhibitions such as Autumn Fair, Jewellery Arabia and Scent Arabia.
Best bank for ESG: National Bank of Bahrain
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has demonstrated good progress in driving sustainability in its operations and community outreach activities.
The bank collaborated with Bapco Energies to execute the first-ever environmental, social and governance-linked interest-rate swap in Bahrain last year. It has also demonstrated progress in its environmental performance metrics, successfully reducing its total energy consumption by 6.76% and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 7%.
Additionally, NBB has increased its waste recycling ratio by 17%, compared with 2022.
NBB has played a pivotal role in promoting environmental awareness among young people. It sponsored the Bahrain international schools ecosummit, an event that brought together nearly 300 students aged 10 to 16 from 16 different schools.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: National Bank of Bahrain
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) is the best bank for corporate responsibility in Bahrain this year.
The bank delivered BD2.2 million ($5.8 million) for the support of 81 different organizations and a range of community activities during the research period.
It allocated 5% of its annual net profits to sectors including social welfare, healthcare, education, youth and sports programmes, as well as environmental and governance projects.
In October 2023, NBB launched a new line of credit cards incorporating Mastercard’s ‘touch’ technology. This development was specifically designed to help blind and partially sighted individuals.
The bank also continues to invest in its workforce through its Evolve internship programme, which offered work experience and exposure to the banking industry to nearly 80 students from schools and universities across Bahrain.
Best bank for diversity & inclusion: Sico Bank
Sico Bank has improved its efforts to empower women both within its workforce and in the broader financial community.
There is high female representation on its board of directors in Bahrain, with women making up 40% of the total. Overall, women constitute 37% of Sico’s total workforce and 31% of the bank’s managerial roles.
In a drive to empower female involvement in the wider financial sector, Sico has launched a Trading in Financial Markets programme in partnership with the Supreme Council of Women (SCW).
In addition, Sico has collaborated with Stratos in an initiative led by Bain that aims to bring together C-suite female executives to expand their professional networks. It has also joined forces with Playbook, a leading global platform renowned for professional development.
Best bank for corporates: Ahli United Bank
Ahli United Bank is the best bank for corporates in Bahrain having grown total client numbers to 2,214 by the end of the review period. The bank’s B2B platform saw an increase in business customers by 3,472, to over 13,000 and a 32% increase in the value of transactions on the platform.
The lender has prioritized digital innovation. It became the first in the region to automate its entire supply-chain financing process, from initiation to disbursement.
Additionally, it has made substantial enhancements to its B2B platform to ensure compliance with shariah principles. This has included improvements to the financing module and the integration of electronic requests.
