Warba Bank wins six prestigious awards from Islamic Finance News magazine

Wahat Bank achieved a milestone by winning six prestigious awards at the Islamic Finance News (IFN) Awards, recognizing the bank’s leadership in structuring and managing sukuk issuances, delivering distinctive investment solutions, and innovating in digital banking services. Wahat Bank was honored with six IFN awards:

- IFN Award for Best Permanent Sukuk Issuance of 2025

- IFN Award for Best Hybrid Sukuk Issuance of 2025

- IFN Award for Best Sukuk Deal in the United Arab Emirates of 2025

- Best Digital Offering by a Bank in Kuwait

- Best Kuwaiti Dinar Liquidity Fund

- Best US Dollar Liquidity Fund

This achievement extends Wahat Bank’s track record of winning global awards and recognitions in Islamic finance, reflecting its commitment to developing Sharia-compliant financial solutions, strengthening its presence in global markets, continuing to build strategic partnerships with major financial institutions and companies worldwide, and enhancing digital innovation in financial products and services. Last year, the bank also won six similar IFN awards, including those related to financing deals it structured and managed.

Six Awards Honor Landmark Financing Deals

Wahat Bank’s receipt of the six awards recognizes its participation in structuring and managing financing deals distinguished by diverse structures and nature, demonstrating the bank’s capabilities in Islamic finance. These awards underscore Wahat Bank’s ongoing role in capital and Islamic finance markets by offering innovative Sharia-compliant solutions that meet the needs of institutions and companies, alongside its ability to contribute to executing specialized deals.

This achievement reflects the continuous development of Wahat Bank’s capabilities in Islamic finance, as the bank participates in deals spanning multiple markets, leveraging its expertise in global markets. These capabilities align with the bank’s strategy to enhance its position as an Islamic financial institution capable of providing advanced financing solutions for companies and institutions, while maintaining compliance with Sharia principles and internationally accepted professional standards.

Wahat Bank participated in structuring a $450 million sukuk issuance for Arad Development Company, acting as lead manager and bookrunner. Arad Development is one of the real estate development companies operating in the United Arab Emirates. The deal attracted widespread interest, with the order book reaching $2 billion, more than 3.5 times the size of the issuance, due to its nature and structure. For this deal, Wahat Bank won two awards: IFN Award for Best Hybrid Sukuk Issuance of 2025 and IFN Award for Best Sukuk Deal in the United Arab Emirates of 2025.

The second issuance saw Wahat Bank successfully issue $500 million in permanent sukuk for Turkish bank Vakıf Katılım, with the order book reaching $1.8 billion, earning the IFN Award for Best Permanent Sukuk Issuance of 2025.

Wahat Bank Reinforces Its Leadership in Providing Sharia-Compliant Investment Solutions

Confirming Wahat Bank’s leadership in offering Sharia-compliant investment solutions, the bank won the awards for Best Kuwaiti Dinar Liquidity Fund and Best US Dollar Liquidity Fund. These two awards reflect the outstanding performance of the funds and the efficiency of their investment strategies in managing liquidity and achieving competitive returns.

On this occasion, Acting Head of Investment Banking, Youssef Shourji, said: “We are proud that Wahat Bank has received prestigious awards from the Islamic Finance News Awards, which recognize the bank’s efforts and expertise in structuring and managing Islamic finance deals. They also reflect our ability to provide innovative financing solutions that comply with Sharia principles and meet the needs of institutions and companies in local and global markets. This achievement serves as a motivation for us to continue developing our capabilities in financial markets and to strengthen Wahat Bank’s presence as a trusted partner in executing landmark financing deals.”

He added: “Our success in executing sukuk deals and collaborating with global institutions and companies highlights the importance of specialized expertise and the ability to innovate financing structures tailored to the requirements of each deal. At Wahat Bank, we continue to invest in our personnel and expertise, expand our partnerships, and support our strategy to consolidate our position among active Islamic financial institutions in global markets.”

Islamic Finance News (IFN) is a specialized platform that monitors and covers developments in the Islamic finance sector and Islamic capital markets. It provides specialized coverage and analysis of institutions, deals, and markets operating in this sector. Its awards include multiple categories covering deals, financing, sukuk, and various areas of Islamic financial services.

IFN’s deal awards are based on an evaluation of deals submitted by financial institutions, considering a range of factors related to the nature, impact, complexity, level of innovation, challenges faced, and participating parties of each deal.

It is worth noting that Wahat Bank has achieved significant success in a short period, holding a leading position in Islamic digital banking services. It is among the local banks with the highest number of shareholders, making it accessible to all segments of society. This achievement further confirms the bank’s status as a trusted banking partner that combines innovation and social responsibility in delivering the best financial services and products. In this context, Wahat Bank won the award for Best Digital Offering by a Bank in Kuwait.