Best bank: Arab Bank
Arab Bank underwent a digital transformation in 2025, which included rebuilding the bank’s digital ecosystem, expanding its use of APIs and launching a digital identity-enabled mobile app.
Increased AI usage has driven an operational uplift, with annual savings equivalent to 7,000 workdays across 30 generative AI use cases. These include lead generation in trade finance using natural language processing (NLP) and large language models (LLMs), and an AI-based Frontline Assistant rolled out to branches and call centres.
In retail, Arab Bank broadened its range of wealth products to cover a real estate fund, capital-guaranteed deposits, precious metals accounts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), all delivered through an upgraded wealth app. The app offers an integrated investment experience with flexible portfolio management and trading capabilities. This digital redesign also included enhanced payment capabilities via digital wallet integrations, and integration with Apple, Google and Samsung Pay, as well as American Express.
Corporate clients benefitted from a transformation of the bank’s Corporate Digital Gateway. New persona-based dashboards and expanded API capabilities enhanced the cash management experience, whilst on the trade finance side clients are now able to manage document-intensive transactions through a streamlined platform. The UAE launch of Arab Bank’s Supply Chain Finance platform in 2025 also prefigures enhanced cashflow and buyer-seller relationships in the Gulf from 1H26.
Best bank for ESG: Bank al Etihad
In 2025, Bank al Etihad distinguished itself in Jordan by moving sustainability decisively from policy to balance-sheet impact, with measurable results across products, portfolios and data infrastructure. Its strategy combined breadth – spanning corporate, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and retail – with the depth required to support transition in a water‑ and carbon‑constrained economy.
The bank expanded its green, transition and sustainability‑linked finance offering across all major client segments, targeting energy efficiency, water efficiency, low‑carbon upgrades and e‑mobility. Sustainability‑linked lending was piloted in emissions‑intensive sectors using sector‑specific key performance indicators (KPIs), aligning pricing incentives with improvements in emissions intensity and operational efficiency rather than static labels. This approach allowed Bank al Etihad to support transition pathways in hard‑to‑abate sectors central to the Jordanian economy.
A notable differentiator in 2025 was the launch of a Sustainable In‑Direct Finance Framework, extending credible sustainable finance classification to trade instruments such as letters of credit and guarantees. By embedding sustainability criteria into supply chain and trade finance, the bank enabled clean technology imports and certified financing, broadening the reach of sustainable finance beyond traditional term lending.
Performance matched ambition. By the end of 2025, cumulative sustainable finance mobilisation reached JOD289.7 million, exceeding the bank’s JOD250 million target. Sustainable assets accounted for 17% of the non‑sovereign bond portfolio, signalling a meaningful reallocation of capital rather than isolated transactions.
Underpinning this activity, Bank al Etihad strengthened its data and reporting architecture through artificial intelligence (AI)‑enabled carbon tracking (Phase I) and (International Financial Reporting Standards) IFRS‑aligned climate disclosures, improving financed emissions readiness and origination discipline. In a market where execution remains uneven, the bank set a clear benchmark for credible, performance‑led environmental, social and governance (ESG) banking.
Best bank for corporate responsibility: Bank al Etihad
Bank al Etihad delivered measurable social inclusion, community resilience and environmental impact across Jordan in 2025.
During the review period, the bank consolidated its corporate responsibility activities into a single, governed model under its Bassmet al Etihad platform, strengthening coordination and impact across initiatives. This structured approach was matched by high investment, with CSR spend standing at $2.1 million in 2025 and total beneficiaries rising to 62,968, up 26% year-on-year.
Education and financial inclusion programmes focused on employability and access to opportunity. Initiatives including Rise Academy, which delivers structured financial education through targeted bootcamps, alongside nationwide financial literacy campaigns, reached hundreds of participants. More than 1.7 million people were also reached digitally through blogs and podcasts, extending financial capability across Jordan.
Community programmes addressed systemic pressures on healthcare and social welfare. Partnerships delivered cancer awareness to more than 14,000 individuals, engaged more than 25,000 students through fundraising and outreach initiatives, and supported treatment and training, strengthening national healthcare capacity. Food security initiatives providing 44,000 meals annually, alongside healthcare support in refugee settings, addressed immediate needs while supporting social stability.
Environmental initiatives linked sustainability with livelihoods. Recycling more than 20,000 expired cards into marketable products created income for 25 low-income women, demonstrating a practical circular economy model that combines waste reduction with economic inclusion in a resource-constrained environment.
Best bank for D&I: Jordan Ahli Bank
Jordan Ahli Bank’s diversity and inclusion strategy stood out in 2025 for delivering measurable results in female representation, career advancement and economic participation in the country.
The bank embedded diversity and inclusion across its People and Culture strategy and its ESG framework, ensuring it was treated as a core performance driver throughout the organisation. This translated into measurable workforce outcomes during the review period, with female representation reaching 40% – well above the national female labour force participation rate of approximately 14%.
A 46% increase in female promotions in 2025 reflects targeted investment in leadership development – including the Ahli Women Impact Programme, which supports women through focused mentoring, capability-building and career acceleration – alongside inclusive leadership training designed to strengthen management accountability and progression pathways.
The bank addressed participation barriers through its partnership with the International Finance Corporation’s Care Arabia programme, supporting childcare solutions for working mothers in Jordan, including access to safe and reliable options aligned with working hours. This improved retention and enabled greater continuity in women’s careers, while consistent female hiring at 40% to 45% ensured progress was sustained through a steady inflow of talent.
The strategy extended beyond the workforce into financial inclusion. Proceeds from Jordan’s first sustainability bond supported women-led SMEs, while targeted financial products expanded access to finance for female entrepreneurs, extending the bank’s inclusion efforts into the wider economy.
Best bank for sustainable finance: Jordan Kuwait Bank
Jordan Kuwait Bank stood out for its structured and consistent approach to developing its sustainable finance activities in 2025.
Over the review period, the bank expanded its sustainable financing activity in a measured way, increasing total labelled issuance to $50 million and maintaining a consistent pipeline of four green, social or sustainability instruments. This supported market development by providing a more regular supply of labelled products and helping to reinforce benchmarks for both issuers and investors in Jordan.
Capital deployment was closely linked to identifiable national priorities. The bank financed and refinanced wastewater treatment and reuse infrastructure, directly addressing Jordan’s structural water scarcity. These investments improved water efficiency and recycling capacity while supporting faster project delivery through refinancing.
Transaction structuring also played a key role. The bank introduced financing models for private sector wastewater projects that redistributed risk between stakeholders. This enabled borrowers to expand project pipelines while improving cash-flow predictability, increasing the overall volume of sustainable infrastructure being delivered.
Product development broadened access to sustainable finance across the economy. A 2025 agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to partially guarantee green SME lending reduced credit risk and allowed the bank to extend preferential terms, increasing uptake of environmentally aligned investments.
Social financing initiatives complemented this, including women-focused programmes such as the Hadanti product, which combined financing with technical support to improve access to capital for women-led daycare businesses.
These activities were supported by integrating ESG considerations into credit processes and introducing climate risk assessment tools, enabling more consistent and forward-looking capital allocation.
Best for securities services: Bank of Jordan
Bank of Jordan’s securities services franchise is defined by structural alignment with a tightly concentrated domestic market, where scale, infrastructure integration and regulatory familiarity determine competitiveness.
Its longstanding presence in custody, combined with deep connectivity to local post-trade systems, positions it as the principal domestic provider of institutional servicing in Jordan.
The bank has built this position through early investment in custody infrastructure, launching services ahead of local peers and steadily expanding its platform to support both domestic and international clients.
Its integrated asset servicing system connects with core banking, Swift messaging and market infrastructure, enabling efficient settlement, corporate actions and reporting across asset classes. This operational framework supports high straight-through processing and provides the reliability required in a market where post-trade processes are centralised.
Client traction reflects this embedded position. Bank of Jordan maintains a dominant share of assets under custody and has retained key mandates while expanding its institutional client base following the retrenchment of an international provider.
Its ability to support a broad range of clients – from asset managers to financial institutions – alongside regional expansion into Palestine and Iraq extends its relevance beyond a single market.
Ongoing investment in automation, reporting and regulatory engagement reinforces a franchise built on execution certainty, local expertise and sustained client relationships.
Best bank for corporates: Arab Bank
Few banks in Jordan can claim the same depth of coverage across the corporate landscape as Arab Bank. Whether supporting large infrastructure and energy projects across the region or helping SMEs access digital financing and working capital solutions, the bank has built a proposition that serves businesses at every stage of their development.
This breadth of capability, combined with a longstanding regional presence and continued investment in technology, made Arab Bank Jordan’s best bank for corporates.
Among large corporates, Arab Bank continues to leverage its regional network and balance sheet to support strategic infrastructure and energy projects across the Middle East and beyond. During the review period, the bank participated in financing major infrastructure developments spanning telecommunications, water, transport, energy and data centres. It also supported sustainable finance and development initiatives, helping finance projects that contribute to the country’s energy transition, infrastructure modernisation and long-term economic growth.
Alongside these financing activities, the bank continued to strengthen its corporate banking proposition through product and platform innovation. New offerings included trade finance solutions for financial institutions, virtual account management capabilities, receivables discounting programmes and real estate escrow services. Its Corporate Digital Gateway was enhanced with API banking functionality, advanced trade finance tools and mobile capabilities, helping clients streamline treasury, payments and trade processes.
Arab Bank also expanded its use of artificial intelligence across lead generation, risk management and credit origination, improving efficiency and deepening client engagement.
The same commitment to innovation is clear in the SME segment. Arab Bank has built one of Jordan’s most comprehensive SME ecosystems, centred on its Arabi Next platform. The bank reported that 96% of SME transaction volumes and 81% of transaction values were conducted digitally in 2025, highlighting the extent to which customers have embraced its digital offering. Beyond day-to-day banking, Arabi Next provides access to lending, onboarding, payments, business management tools and a wider ecosystem that includes e-commerce, supply-chain finance and business support services.
The bank further strengthened its SME proposition with the launch of innovative lending products, including Jordan’s first dynamic point-of-sale loan, alongside new working capital and fixed asset financing solutions.
Combined with digital onboarding capabilities, specialised relationship managers and ongoing investment in staff training, these initiatives have reinforced Arab Bank’s position as a trusted growth partner for Jordanian businesses.
