NBK Wins Awards for 'Best Bank with Governance Standards' and 'Best Call Center in Kuwait's Banking Sector'

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has continued to consolidate its position in the field of governance excellence and customer service, by winning the “Best Bank in Governance Standards Implementation” award for the first time, and the “Best Call Center in the Banking Sector” award in Kuwait for the third consecutive year, for the years 2025 and 2026, as recognized by Global Brands magazine. This achievement reflects the success of its plans to deliver a faster and more efficient banking experience.

Dr. Ayman Al-Balushi, Head of Group Governance at NBK, Ammar Khajah, Assistant General Manager of Retail Banking Services, and Hussein Shamouh, Head of the Call Center, received the awards during the ceremony hosted by the magazine in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the presence of a number of regional banking and corporate executives.

The bank was honored with the Best Bank in Governance Standards Implementation award in recognition of the effectiveness of its internal control mechanisms, its full commitment to transparency, ethical responsibility, and regulatory requirements, the integration of operational performance and internal controls, and its robust risk management procedures.

NBK’s selection for the Best Call Center in the Banking Sector in Kuwait was based on a set of operational standards and service quality criteria, including speed of customer response, efficiency in handling inquiries and requests, activation of automated response systems, customer satisfaction levels, and continuous development of staff capabilities.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr. Ayman Al-Balushi stated that the Best Bank in Governance Standards Implementation award reflects the excellence of the organizational and managerial approach adopted by NBK, translating the Board of Directors’ and executive management’s commitment to transparency and self-regulation to safeguard the rights of all stakeholders and continuously deliver added value.

He attributed this achievement to the Board of Directors’ approach and directives, which are based on strict adherence to governance standards. This is evident through the adoption of a fully digital mechanism via the advanced “Geiom” system to approve policies and monitor their implementation across various departments, thereby enhancing the confidence of global circles and institutions in the bank’s performance.

He added: “We have been keen to build a work system that goes beyond the traditional concept of compliance, making governance an integral part of our culture and daily decision-making mechanism. We will strive to continue developing our standards and consolidating our leading position, supported by the Board of Directors, by enhancing innovation, transparency, and accuracy across all departments and divisions to build strong trust with partners and all stakeholders, and to ensure business sustainability and the successful achievement of our objectives.”

He noted that the bank continuously updates its internal policies by adopting modern digital systems and developing disclosure and control mechanisms, in line with relevant regulations, to adapt to economic changes, manage crises and challenges wisely, and provide a responsible business model at all levels.

Al-Balushi concluded: “This recognition by Global Brands marks a milestone toward establishing an accountability-based model to win the trust of global institutions, after we aligned our internal policies with global developments to ensure the efficiency of our adopted systems. This is based on the Board of Directors’ conviction that governance is the true guarantee for protecting the bank’s assets and consolidating trust with all stakeholders.”

For her part, Jauhar Maaref, General Manager of Retail Banking Services at the bank, stated: “Winning the Best Call Center in the Banking Sector in Kuwait award for the third consecutive year confirms the success of our strategy in developing the customer experience. It reflects the continuous investment in technology and human resources, enabling us to provide banking services characterized by speed, efficiency, and quality.”

She added: “Over the past period, we have been keen to achieve a qualitative leap in the call center by integrating modern solutions and technologies and developing communication mechanisms with customers, alongside continuing to train and qualify our staff to ensure professional and precise handling of customer needs around the clock.”

She pointed out that the call center is one of the main pillars of the customer experience system, and not just a channel for responding to inquiries. It now plays an integrated role in providing services and executing many banking requests quickly and securely, thereby enhancing ease of interaction with the bank and increasing customer confidence in its services.

She emphasized that this achievement serves as a motivation to continue innovating and developing competencies, saying: “Our ambition goes beyond winning awards to building a banking model that places the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will continue to develop our channels and services to keep pace with our customers’ expectations.”

Maaref concluded: “Winning this title again places a greater responsibility on us to maintain high levels of service quality, thereby enhancing the position and leadership of NBK in the customer experience within the Kuwaiti banking sector.”

This comes as these two awards add to a series of honors that NBK continues to receive from specialized institutions evaluating performance in the banking sector, reflecting its success in adopting the highest standards and keeping pace with the constant developments and changes in the banking industry. This contributes to earning the trust of global experts and consolidating its high competitiveness and ability to meet the expectations of all its customer segments.