Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) was recognized for the second consecutive year as “Bank of The Year in Qatar” by The Banker Magazine, a leading Financial Times’ title, as part of the Bank of the Year Awards 2021.
Judged by a panel of experts which distinguishes excellence and sustainability, The Banker’s “Bank of The Year” awards recognize financial institutions that demonstrate a solid strategy and growth while catering to their customers’ daily banking needs.
Held virtually on December 1, 2021, the award ceremony recognized QIB’s achievement at the presence of senior global bankers and executive editors of The Banker Magazine. This accolade is a tribute to the bank’s outstanding performance and the numerous new, innovative products and services introduced in the past year.
In 2021, QIB has seen the introduction of significant features to its digital banking channels, such as the new digital products exclusively available on its Mobile App, including the Domestic Workers Digital Account, the Digital Direct Remit Service, and the QMP digital wallet in collaboration with the Qatar Central Bank. Moreover, QIB has enhanced the digital banking experience of its corporate customers with the launch of the QIB Corporate App. The Bank is also the first Islamic Bank in Qatar to launch an integrated Host-to-Host (H2H) Online Payment Management solution for large corporates.
QIB has recently launched Apple Pay to its customers to provide easy and secure mobile and online payments. Furthermore, QIB is the first bank in Qatar to launch video banking via its Mobile App as part of its efforts towards the full digitization of its products and services. Paving the way for conversational banking, QIB is also the first bank in Qatar to launch a conversational virtual assistant, using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, as part of its ongoing efforts to provide innovative digital solutions to empower its customers and meet their ever-changing banking needs.
Commenting on the recent success, Mr. Bassel Gamal, QIB’s Group CEO said: “We are honored to receive this prestigious award from The Banker Magazine for the second year in a row. We truly consider this recognition a testament to our success in maintaining a leading position in Qatar’s competitive banking sector. This recognition is due to the ambitious guidance of our Board, everybody’s hard work and dedication and our customers’ trust.”
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, it was very important to support our customers in these times of financial uncertainty. At QIB, we have taken different steps at the bank’s level together with active participation in government related programs to support businesses and ensure the local economy stays strong and resilient. The crisis has also created a fundamental shift in customer behaviors, as people were obliged to bank remotely to comply with social-distancing guidelines.
Our recent investments in digital banking and information security allowed both our retail and corporate customers to perform almost all of their banking transactions remotely, a trend that we expect to continue in the future. The advanced state of our digitalization, ensured business continuity as well as the safety of our customers and employees.
With this in mind, we remain a customer-centric Bank with full commitment to continuously improve and innovate our products and offer to our customers new, innovative ways to bank with us” concluded Mr. Gamal.
QIB has recently announced the results of the nine months’ period ending 30 September 2021. Net Profit attributable to the Shareholders of the Bank amounted to QAR 2,525 Million for the nine months’ period ended 30 September 2021 representing a growth of 13.9% over the same period in 2020. Total Assets of the Bank now stands at QAR 186 Billion higher by 6.7% compared to December 2020 with a growth of 9.4% compared to September 2020 driven by the continued growth in the financing and investing activities. Financing activities have now reached QAR 127 Billion having grown by 6.7% compared to December 2020 and a growth of 12.3% compared to September 2020.
The Banker, a UK-based publication owned by The Financial Times Group, provides economic and financial intelligence for the world’s financial sector, and has built a reputation for objective and incisive reporting.
Source: Qatar Islamic Bank
