Warba Wins 6 Awards from Islamic Finance News

Waha 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 offerings, delivering distinctive investment solutions, and innovating in digital banking services. Waha Bank secured the following 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, and Best US Dollar Liquidity Fund.

This achievement is a continuation of Waha Bank’s journey of winning global awards and recognitions in the field of Islamic finance, reflecting its commitment to developing financial solutions compliant with Shariah principles, strengthening its presence in global markets, and continuing to build strategic partnerships with major financial institutions and companies worldwide, alongside enhancing digital innovation in financial products and services. Last year, the bank had previously won six similar IFN awards, some of which were related to financing deals it structured and managed.

Waha Bank’s acquisition of the six awards was in recognition of its participation in structuring and managing financing deals characterized by diverse structures and nature, reflecting the bank’s capabilities in Islamic finance. These awards underscore Waha Bank’s ongoing role in capital markets and Islamic finance, through providing innovative solutions that comply with Shariah principles and meet the needs of institutions and companies, as well as its ability to contribute to executing specialized deals.

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

Waha Bank participated in structuring the issuance of $450 million in sukuk for Arada Properties, acting as the lead manager and bookrunner. Arada is a real estate development company 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, Waha Bank won two awards: the IFN Award for Best Hybrid Sukuk Issuance of 2025, and the IFN Award for Best Sukuk Deal in the United Arab Emirates of 2025.

In the second issuance, Waha Bank successfully structured permanent sukuk for Turkish Katilim Bank, valued at $500 million. The order book for this issuance reached $1.8 billion, earning Waha Bank the IFN Award for Best Permanent Sukuk Issuance of 2025.

Reinforcing Leadership

Confirming Waha Bank’s leadership in providing investment solutions compliant with Shariah principles, the bank won the Best Kuwaiti Dinar Liquidity Fund award and the Best US Dollar Liquidity Fund award. These two awards reflect the outstanding performance of the funds and the efficiency of their investment strategies in managing liquidity and achieving competitive returns.

Shourji: Awards Reflect Waha’s Expertise in Islamic Finance

On this occasion, Youssef Shourji, Head of Investment Banking at Waha Bank, said: “We are proud that Waha Bank has won prestigious awards from the Islamic Finance News Awards, which recognize the efforts and expertise the bank possesses in structuring and managing Islamic finance deals. They also reflect our ability to provide innovative financing solutions that comply with Shariah 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 Waha Bank’s presence as a trusted partner in executing distinctive financing deals.”

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

A Specialized Platform

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 in each deal.

Waha Bank is among the banks that have achieved significant success in a short period, holding a leading position in the field of Islamic digital banking services. It is one of 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, Waha Bank won the award for Best Digital Offering by a Bank in Kuwait.