Al Hilal Bank was recently named the ‘Best Regional Retail Bank (Middle East)’ at the prestigious 2012 Islamic Business & Finance Awards held in Dubai.

The bank emerged victorious from a short list of hundreds of top Islamic financial institutions; receiving thousands of votes cast by readers of Islamic Business & Finance magazine and registered users of the financial news website, a statement from Al Hilal said.

This marks the third consecutive year that the bank has been recognised by the Islamic Business & Finance Awards for excellence in regional retail banking; for the last two years the bank was named ‘Best Retail Bank (GCC)’.

The award was held for the 7th year by Islamic Business & Finance magazine – the authoritative voice of the global Islamic finance industry with a worldwide circulation covering all continents.

Al Hilal joined winners from Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe in celebrating another year of impressive growth for Islamic finance. Mohamed Zaqout, Al Hilal Bank’s head of personal banking, received the award on behalf of the bank.

“It was truly an honour to be among the world’s top bankers and financiers and be recognised for our pioneering work in Islamic banking, particularly in the retail segment,” he said. “More importantly, through, we earned this accolade through the voice of the voting public. We assure our customers and partners that we will continue to uphold our visions as a progressive Islamic bank.”

Around 200 of the international banking world’s top practitioners and leaders gathered at the 2012 Islamic Business & Finance Awards to witness the handing out of 36 awards to the best and the brightest in global Islamic banking and finance.

The annual awards ceremony is organised by Islamic Business & Finance – a magazine managed by the Middle East's leading financial publisher, CPI Financial.

Since its inception in 2008, Al Hilal Bank has been the recipient of various local and international industry recognitions, including the ‘Quality Appreciation Certificate’ at the 2011 Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA), the UAE’s most prestigious business excellence award; and ‘Most Improved Bank’ during the 2011 Bank Benchmark Index Awards organised as part of UAE Customer Service Week. Al Hilal currently operates 22 branches and over 115 ATMs in the UAE as well as three overseas branches in Kazakhstan. – TradeArabia News Service