Best bank: FAB
FAB was the clear winner of Euromoney’s best bank award in the UAE this year following a strong financial performance, improvements in environmental, social and governance and sustainable finance, and advancements in technology.
The bank, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and operates in 20 markets, saw a 21% increase in profit-before-tax to Dh17.55 billion ($4.8 billion) in 2023, compared with Dh14.39 billion in 2022.
Total assets grew by 5% to Dh1.17 trillion, while return on tangible equity rose to 17.6% from 15.7% in 2022.
The bank added 33,000 new clients in consumer banking and 3,374 in corporate and commercial banking last year. This solidified its dominant position in the market, giving it a 29% share of total assets at the end of 2023.
The bank, led by chief executive Hana Al Rostamani, introduced several new products in the review period. These include a new supply-chain financing programme launched in Saudi Arabia; engineering group Alfanar became its first local client in Saudi Arabia.
Notable partnerships include an agreement with UAE-based neobank Wio Bank in January. Wio can now offer Wio business customers cash and cheque facilities through FAB’s ATM and cash deposit machine network. The partnership included integrating the Wio Business app in the FABePay portal to enable users to initiate cash or cheque deposits.
FAB’s impressive track record in sustainable finance continued last year. In December, the bank announced that it will lend over Dh500 billion in sustainable and transition financing by 2030.
This is an 80% increase over the previous commitment made in 2021 and represents the largest sustainable finance commitment made by any Middle East and North Africa bank to date. It is more than half of the Dh1 trillion commitment made by UAE banks to sustainable finance on Finance Day at the COP28 conference in Dubai.
Best investment bank: FAB
FAB dominated the league tables for equity capital markets in the UAE with a 30.5% market share, and has also been named the best investment bank in the UAE this year.
The bank worked on the UAE’s largest IPOs last year, the $2.48 billion IPO of Adnoc Gas in March 2023. It was also involved in Adnoc Logistics and Services’ $769 million IPO and the $451 million IPO of Investcorp.
In debt markets, the bank worked on a wave of deals in September, including the UAE’s $1.5 billion sovereign bond, a $1 billion sukuk for Energy Development Oman, a $1.75 billion sukuk for Islamic Development Bank and DP World’s $1.5 billion green sukuk.
It also acted as joint green structure and joint bookrunner on the $500 million senior unsecured green sukuk issued by Aldar Investment Properties and the dual-tranche (including a green tranche) $1.5 billion notes from Abu Dhabi National Energy Company in April.
The bank achieved a 13.63% market share in MENA loans in the review period and closed around 430 transactions across syndicated and club deals.
Best international bank: HSBC
HSBC has seen strong digital growth in transaction banking in the UAE, with a 27% year-on-year increase in virtual account customers. The bank’s HSBCnet Track Payment feature recorded an increase in user engagement of 36%.
The bank’s AI-driven FX Prompt feature has driven an 85% increase in transactions. HSBC is the first international provider on the market to offer a Swift pre-validation service, while the introduction of HSBC TradePay, a document-free trade-finance solution, has reduced processing times from two days to one minute.
The bank has expanded HSBC Innovation Banking in the UAE, focusing on venture debt and equity for innovators and clean technology companies. It recorded a 72% growth in sustainable financing in the UAE last year.
Best international investment bank: Citi
Citi has been involved in a number of landmark transactions in the UAE over the review period.
In M&A, it advised on the formation of TASC Towers, the largest telecoms mast company in the Middle East and North Africa region, through the merger of the tower portfolios of Zain Group, Ooredoo and TASC in a deal valued at approximately $2.2 billion.
It also acted as a joint global coordinator in the $315 million IPO of the Dubai Taxi Company. This was the largest transportation services IPO in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in 2023 and the second largest in MENA to date.
Citi also coordinated the $451 million IPO of Investcorp Capital, which stands as the largest finance IPO in MENA since 2022 and the largest alternative assets IPO globally over the same period.
In debt, Citi priced over $11 billion in cumulative volumes during the review period.
Best digital bank: Mashreq
Mashreq has revamped its mobile banking app in the UAE, introducing a new all-in-one solution. This has resulted in a 35% increase in user engagement and a more than 100% increase in cross-selling of products.
The bank introduced a fully digital onboarding process for corporate clients, which has an adoption rate of 99.5%. In small and medium-sized enterprise banking, it introduced instant loan decisions, cutting application processing times.
The bank also launched a digital agency services portal that manages a portfolio worth $14 billion across more than 100 deals.
Artificial intelligence is key to the strategy. The bank developed an AI-enabled platform for relationship managers that uses natural language processing to identify opportunities and assess risks.
In-house AI tools have been added to monitor transaction deviations and generate new customer insights, while the Mashreq virtual assistant, enhanced by AI, now handles 70% of customer queries.
Best bank for SMEs: Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD has launched several digital initiatives targeted at small and medium-sized enterprise clients during the review period.
It opened over 6,000 new business accounts for SMEs last year, giving the bank a 30% market share of SME customers.
Some 93% of new SME accounts were onboarded digitally via the mobile app E20.
Integration with UAE government bodies has enhanced the verification process. This has cut the turnaround time for opening new business accounts by 40%.
Emirates NBD has also streamlined the process for SME customers to update their know-your-customer details and has launched smartTrade, a trade-finance portal that simplifies the management of trade-financing requirements.
Best bank for ESG: First Abu Dhabi Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank is the UAE’s best bank for environmental, social and governance following a busy year in sustainable finance and robust emission-reduction efforts.
The bank facilitated over $25.3 billion in sustainable finance transactions, comprising $8.6 billion in sustainability-linked loans and $10.6 billion in green and social loans across renewable energy, clean transportation and social housing. The bank also worked on $3.5 billion in sustainable bonds and sukuks.
It priced its own $600 million five-year green bond, a first for a Middle East and North Africa financial institution, in 2023. This bond was issued at US Treasury +95 basis points, resulting in an all-in yield of 4.774%.
First Abu Dhabi Bank has also been instrumental in developing the MENA carbon trading market. In October, it announced collaborations with Blue Carbon and Masdar to generate environmental assets and supply high-quality carbon credits. The bank has established a dedicated carbon trading desk within its global markets division.
The bank reported a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity per full-time employee versus 2022.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has demonstrated great commitment to corporate social responsibility in the UAE and has contributed Dh20 billion ($5.4 billion) to charitable causes.
The bank has conducted over 30 workshops in the education sector through its financial education programme, involving around 5,000 participants throughout the UAE. Its Amwali mobile app educates children and adolescents about financial management.
ADIB has also partnered with The Butterfly, an organization advocating for disadvantaged people and their families in Abu Dhabi.
Best bank for diversity & inclusion: Dubai Islamic Bank
Dubai Islamic Bank has been involved in several initiatives to foster diversity and inclusion across the United Arab Emirates.
The bank organized events for Emirati Women’s Day and partnered with the Dubai International Financial Centre to launch the AccelerateHER programme, which focuses on mentoring and nurturing future female leaders in the finance sector.
Internally, women hold 550 roles at DIB, underscoring progress in gender representation.
The bank has donated Dh1 million ($270,000) to benefit 15,000 individuals with disabilities. It has also introduced branches with wheelchair-accessible features such as counters, bathrooms, ramps and ATMs.
DIB has also made enhancements to its website to improve accessibility, including larger fonts and higher contrast, as well as screen reader support.
Best bank for corporates: Emirates NBD
Emirates NBD saw an 18% increase in corporate lending in the UAE last year, writing Dh70 billion ($19 billion) in new loans. Growth was focused in sectors such as manufacturing, trade, transport and communication.
The corporate and investment banking division posted its best year to date, with profits nearly doubling from the year before. The Global Loan Solutions platform closed over $38 billion in syndicated loan deal volume across 52 deals.
The bank also launched API Souq, a corporate portal that streamlines services such as account management, payments, clearing, trade and treasury. It also rolled out its digital signature platform SignOnline.
Rising star: Wio Bank
Launched as the region’s first platform bank without physical branches at the end of 2022, Wio Bank has added over 100,000 customers in just under a year of operation.
The bank’s cloud-based and API-driven offerings were initially rolled out to business customers. Since its inception, Wio Business has enrolled over 52,000 small and medium-sized enterprise customers, adding more than 4,500 new accounts monthly.
In mid 2023, the bank launched its retail platform Wio Personal. This is free for customers with balances over Dh35,000 ($9,500). The platform facilitates investment in global stocks, exchange-traded funds, fractional shares and UAE IPOs, with zero commission fees.
