AUB wins the J.P. Morgan Elite Recognition Awards

Press release

Published July 26th, 2011 - 11:52 GMT

Shafqat Anwar, AUB's Deputy Group CEO, Operations & Technology, receiving the award from Ali Moosa, J.P. Morgan's Managing Director, MENA region

Ahli United Bank (AUB) has been awarded the 'Elite Quality Recognition Award 2011’ by JP Morgan Chase, in recognition of the Bank’s superior and virtually error-free processing of funds transfers and treasury transactions.

This is the seventh consecutive year AUB has won this award in its prestigious Elite class from this global financial services firm. Since 1997, JP Morgan Chase has been giving this award to acknowledge the consistent, high-quality performance of clients’ funds transfer operations management and staff. This year, less than 1% of their funds transfer clients qualified for the Quality Recognition Award.

The 2011 Quality Recognition Awards are divided into two groups, each designated by a SWIFT message type (MT). Within each group, there are elite awards given to recognise the ultimate level of performance.

With achieved STP (straight through processing) rate of 99.6% for SWIFT message type MT103 and 99.7% for SWIFT message type MT202, AUB qualified for the Elite title for both categories of payments, ranking amongst the best performing banks regionally and internationally.

Managing Director of JPMorgan Chase Bank MENA region, Ali Moosa formally presented the award to Shafqat Anwar, Deputy Group CEO, Operations and Technology, AUB at a special ceremony held at AUB’s headquarters in Seef.

Mr. Ali Moosa said, “AUB is amongst a select group of institutions being recognised from thousands around the world, having once again exceeded our stringent STP performance standards. We are proud to work with clients like AUB which consistently achieve best-in-class rates and demonstrate such a long-term commitment to quality”.

Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Shafqat Anwar said, "We are delighted to receive this award from JP Morgan Chase, which acknowledges our focus on meeting and exceeding our customers' expectations for highest performance and service standards. This award reflects our philosophy and ongoing teamwork efforts aiming at achieving a culture of excellence and delivering most efficient and reliable banking services to our valued customers at all times".

Background Information

Ahli United Bank

Ahli United Bank BSC (AUB) is a full fledged commercial and investment banking group providing wealth management, retail, corporate, treasury, offshore and private banking services.

The Group's businesses consist of the operations in Bahrain, a wholly owned subsidiary in the UK and associates in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Iraq. In Kuwait, AUB has an effective holding of 75% in the Bank of Kuwait and The Middle East while in Qatar, AUB has a 40% stake in Ahli Bank QSC. In Oman, AUB has a 35% stake in Ahli Bank SAOG while in Iraq AUB has a 49% stake in the Commercial Bank of Iraq. In Egypt, AUB, its associate banks and other Gulf financial institutions together hold an 89.3% stake in Ahli United Bank SAE. Apart from these banks, AUB has a nominal stake of 75% in KMEFIC, a brokerage, asset management and corporate finance company based in Kuwait with operations around the Arabian Gulf.

Overall, the AUB Group, through its subsidiaries and associates, operates through a network of 93 branch offices and employs over 3,000 people.

AUB’s stated mission is to create an unrivalled ability to meet customer needs, provide fulfillment and development for staff and to deliver outstanding shareholder value. AUB’s strategy is to expand through both organic growth and acquisition in order to act as a ‘multifaceted financial bridge’ between the international financial markets and its Gulf clients. It has sought to establish an operating presence in each of the Pan-GCC countries with a targeted 10% - 20% market share. To this end, AUB continues to develop and invest to increase its ability to acquire new businesses and rapidly integrate them with the bank’s systems. This development has helped accelerate progress in the delivery of financial services and penetration into targeted geographical markets.