Bahrain I Egypt I Iran I Israel I Jordan I Kuwait I Lebanon I Morocco I Oman I Qatar I Saudi Arabia I United Arab Emirates I Lifetime Achievement The performance of Jordan’s banks has improved substantially in recent years, with more of them now prepared to offer innovative solutions to their customers. Institutions like the Housing Bank have performed well but the market is still dominated by Arab Bank, which wins the award for best bank for its continued domination of the retail and corporate market and its readiness to continue its strategy of international expansion.
Its strong performance is reflected in its results for 2005, which showed a net profit after taxes and provisions of $503.2 million, up $176.3 million on 2004, Arab Bank’s best result since its establishment 75 years ago.
With an international operation that now includes branches in China and South Korea, Arab Bank is the one institution in Jordan that can claim to have a genuine global reach, with more than 400 branches and offices on five continents.
It is also diversifying its services into investment banking and reaping the rewards of its purchase of Atlas Investment Group – this year it launched a $100 million fund to invest in the Middle East and North Africa.