Kuwait City, Kuwait — Boubyan Bank made a new achievement by being on Global Finance’s list as the Safest Islamic Financial Institution in Kuwait, and the second GCC-wide. Moreover, the bank managed for the first time to be on the list for the Safest 10 Banks in the Middle East, which includes both Islamic and conventional banks, thus positioning itself among top players in the region in 2023.
In its assessment and ranking of the safest banks, Global Finance’s assessment was based on long-term credit ratings of banks by international credit rating agencies such as Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s, in addition to other criteria pertinent to the total assets of the list of the Top 500 Banks worldwide.
On this occasion, Mr. Abdul-Salam Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer – Corporate Banking, Finance, Treasury & Legal, stated that he took pride in that achievement and the noticeable progress in international rankings, which served as an international recognition confirming the bank’s abilities and success in taking all internationally recognized precautions and financial measures necessary to maintain the robustness and consistency of the bank’s assets.
He added: “With Boubyan Bank’s leadership and assuming the second place, compared with the 4th place in the same list of last year, we could say that the bank managed to reinforce its position and leadership in the local markets, especially that 2023 has been, and will continue to be, a year of many challenges for the banking sector.”
“Placing Boubyan Bank on the list for the Safest 10 Banks in the region, both Islamic and conventional banks, and assuming the 9th place is a huge achievement, which is no less significant than any other ranking received by the bank recently; rather, this complements the success of our strategy for sustainable growth and maintaining the highest levels of excellence and innovation across all sectors.”, he added.
“This ranking is particularly important owing to the significance and strength of the awarding entity, which is renowned for its fairness, strength, and reliance on numbers and confirmed reports as a reference, especially that this ranking reflects the gradual growth of Boubyan Bank and its climbing to the third place in the local market.”, he pointed out.
The Best in Safety and Stability
Global Finance stressed in its report that stability and safety continue to top the current priorities in the world of finance and business, and for investors around the world. This shows the importance of this list which names the safest banks in the world.
Global Finance stated that many investors and customers around the world look for the creditworthiness and the long-term ratings of banks as a main criterion to gauge the safety level of the banks they deal with.
The main list for the best Islamic banks in the GCC included 3 Kuwaiti banks led by Boubyan Bank, in addition to 3 Qatari banks, two banks from the UAE, and another two banks from the KSA.
Top 100 Companies
Recently, the bank has joined the list of Forbes Top 100 Listed Companies in the Middle East, which crowns many years full of achievements and successes that took the bank to the top of the pyramid of the Kuwaiti banking industry.
This list, prepared annually by Forbes, is made against a set of financial criteria, the most significant of which are market valuation, sales, total assets, and profits of the year 2022.
Key Financial Indicators’ Growth
Over the past 13 years, the bank’s assets grew from ~USD 3 billion (KWD 1 billion) to ~USD 26 billion in the meantime (KWD 8 billion). Furthermore, over the past 5 years, the bank’s operating profits grew from USD 277 million (KWD 85 million) to ~USD 328 million (KWD 101 million), while the bank’s share of Islamic financing grew from 8.55% to 11.26%, and its share of deposits grew from 8.13% to 10.71%.
During the period from 2015 to date, the bank has managed to improve its position among Kuwaiti banks, with its market share of total assets improving from 8th to 3rd place, and it further improved in terms of financing from 8th to 3rd place. Boubyan’s plans focus on international expansion, and the bank managed to increase its shareholding in the Bank of London and the Middle East “BLME” from 28% to ~72% now.
