CPI Financial has announced the 29 winners of the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2010 at a gala dinner at Emirates Towers in Dubai. 

Held in partnership with the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance, the 10th annual Banker Middle East Industry Awards ceremony brought together more than 330 regional and global industry experts.

The awards recognised both corporate and individual distinctions amongst top performers in the industry.

Dr Nasser H Saidi, executive director of the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance and Dominic De Sousa, chairman of CPI Financial, presented the trophy to Michael Hardwick Tomalin, group chief executive of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, who was honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.

The three individual categories were “write-ins” in which voters had to name bankers whom they believed had made significant and lasting contributions to the banking and finance industry. The other individual awards were presented to R Seetharaman, chief executive officer of Doha Bank, and Adnan Ahmed Yousif, president and chief executive officer of Al Baraka Banking Group, for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ and ‘Banker of the Year’ respectively.

For the last 10 years, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards have been setting the benchmark for successful banking and financial institutions in the Mena region. “This year is no exception,” says Dominic De Sousa, chairman of CPI Financial. “Industry pioneers who have witnessed growth during these testing times have been recognized for their performance at the industry’s most prestigious event.”

Winners of the corporate categories, who were selected after an analysis of a whopping 150,000 votes, were predominantly from the Gulf region. One of the top awards was presented to National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) which won ‘Best Bank’ for the second time. NBK had previously won this award in 2007.

More than 100 institutions were competing for the 29 awards this year. Readers of Banker Middle East and Business Intelligence and registered users of CPI’s website cast their votes to select the winners of the different categories.

Following is the full list of the winners:
Best New Bank - Barwa Bank (Qatar)
Best Developing Bank - Al Watany Bank of Egypt (Egypt)
Best Advertising Campaign - Dubai Bank (Dubai, UAE)
Best PR Campaign - Gulf Bank (Kuwait)
Best Customer Service - The International Bank of Qatar (ibq) (Qatar)
Best Contact Centre - Gulf Bank (Kuwait)
Best Use of Technology - Emirates NBD (Dubai, UAE)
Best Law Firm - Al Tamimi & Company (UAE)
Best Advisory Firm - Cedar Management Consulting International (Dubai)
Best Wealth Management Firm - Barclays Wealth (UK, UAE)
Best Mortgage/Home Finance House - Standard Chartered (UK, UAE)
Best Brokerage House - EFG-Hermes (Egypt)
Best Asset Management House - Natixis Global Asset Management (France)
Best Private Equity House - The National Investor (UAE)
Best Hedge Fund Company - Rasmala Investment Bank (UAE)
Best Project Finance House - National Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait)
Best SME Bank/Finance House - Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Best Trade Finance House - United Arab Bank (Sharjah, UAE)
Best Islamic Investment House - The First Investor (Qatar)
Best Private Bank - Bank Sarasin-Alpen (Dubai, UAE)
Best Investment Bank -  Blominvest Bank (Lebanon)
Best Foreign Bank - Standard Chartered (UK)
Best Islamic Bank - Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Best Retail Bank – Blom  Bank (Lebanon)
Best Commercial Bank - Doha Bank (Qatar)
Outstanding Contribution - R. Seetharaman  (Doha Bank, Qatar)
Banker of the Year - Adnan Ahmed Yousif  (Al Baraka Banking Group, Bahrain)
Lifetime Achievement - Michael Hardwick Tomalin (National Bank of Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Best Bank - National Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait)