MEED Awards Boubian 'Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait 2026' - Sarmad

In a new achievement added to his pioneering career, Middle East magazine awarded Bank AlBilad the “Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait 2026” award, as part of the Middle East and North Africa Banking Excellence Awards, which are among the most prominent specialized awards for evaluating the performance of financial and banking institutions in the region.

This recognition reflects AlBilad’s outstanding performance and its established position in the Kuwaiti Islamic banking sector, as well as the success of its strategy in achieving sustainable and balanced growth at both financial and operational levels, strengthening its presence in the local market, while simultaneously developing its business model and expanding its Sharia-compliant banking and investment services.

The honor also comes in light of AlBilad’s advancements in innovation and artificial intelligence, its continuous investment in financial technology, and its efforts to develop workforce capabilities to keep pace with the transformations reshaping the banking industry, supporting its direction toward building an AI-powered banking institution better prepared for the future.

Commenting on this achievement, Abdullah Al-Majhem, Executive Vice President of Private and Personal Banking at AlBilad, expressed his pride in the bank’s award, stating: “We are proud of this recognition, which reflects the success of AlBilad’s long-term strategy in enhancing its leadership in the Islamic banking sector and solidifying its presence as a financial institution that combines operational flexibility with innovation, while maintaining a strong and sustainable growth trajectory, thereby strengthening the confidence of our clients, shareholders, and partners.”

He added: “Over the past few years, we have successfully developed an integrated business model that enables us to keep pace with the rapid changes in the financial sector and capitalize on promising opportunities, relying on a strong base of national talent and strategic technology investments, while continuing to enhance our services and deliver a more seamless and integrated banking experience across all of the bank’s channels.”

Al-Majhem noted that AlBilad’s strategy is based on developing its digital infrastructure, adopting advanced technologies, and expanding the use of artificial intelligence across various bank sectors, contributing to business model development, improving operational efficiency, and empowering departments and teams to deliver faster and more accurate services.

He clarified that the bank continues to implement its AI-driven institutional transformation strategy by developing applications that elevate customer experience, empower employees, and enhance operational efficiency, within clear governance, security, and data protection standards, thereby transforming modern technologies into tangible value that supports business growth and enriches the banking experience.

Al-Majhem added that these investments have contributed to developing the suite of services and solutions available through the AlBilad app and its digital channels, updating payment systems, and increasing operational flexibility, enabling customers to conduct their transactions easily and securely, while enhancing the bank’s ability to respond to their evolving needs.

He highlighted that AlBilad’s financial performance reflects the strength of its financial position and its ability to continue growing and efficiently and flexibly manage economic and operational changes.

He further stated that the bank continues to implement a strategy aimed at balancing measured expansion with maintaining asset quality and capital strength, alongside diversifying income sources and enhancing operational efficiency, noting that this approach has helped the bank maintain strong credit ratings from global rating agencies, confirming its financial stability and ability to continue growing in a changing economic environment.

Al-Mujahim added that Boubyan is always seeking to expand its strategic partnerships with leading global technology institutions, aiming to explore new cooperation opportunities and develop innovative solutions in banking services. This is achieved by leveraging the bank’s banking infrastructure and its operational and regulatory expertise, alongside the technical capabilities and global expertise of its partners.

Al-Mujahim emphasized that supporting fintech companies represents one of the key pillars of the bank’s strategy, through the development of future-oriented solutions in financial services and digital payments. This enhances service efficiency and paves the way for delivering more convenient and secure customer experiences, within frameworks that ensure governance, security, and compliance with regulatory requirements.

In the corporate banking sector, Al-Mujahim stated that Boubyan is strengthening its role as a partner for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners by developing digital banking services and solutions that align with the nature of their businesses and operational needs.

He added that the bank is working to connect SME owners with a network of strategic partners and specialized service providers, while providing an integrated system that helps them efficiently manage collections, payments, and daily transactions. This grants them more time and flexibility to focus on developing and expanding their businesses.

This initiative extends to the “Empower by Boubyan” program, which supports growing and scaling tech startups by providing them with opportunities to benefit from expertise, mentorship, and partnerships that help enhance their readiness and strengthen their market presence.

Al-Mujahim noted that Boubyan’s business model extends to investment and wealth management, offering diverse solutions including funds, investment portfolios, financial planning, and specialized advisory services, tailored to meet customers’ varied investment goals and aspirations.

He added that the bank continues to develop its services in this field by combining specialized expertise with a deep understanding of the needs of different customer segments. This helps build more diversified investment solutions and supports wealth management according to a long-term vision.

Regarding retail banking services, Al-Mujahim said, “We strive to understand our customers’ diverse needs and develop flexible products and services that add real value to their daily transactions.” He further explained that the bank is working to provide a comprehensive banking experience across various channels, combining the ease of digital services with high-quality communication and personalized service.

He clarified that this approach has contributed to strengthening the bank’s position in retail banking by combining product innovation, the advancement of digital channels, and offering benefits suited to different stages of the customer’s life, while maintaining compliance with Islamic Sharia principles and service quality.

Concluding his remarks, Al-Mujahim said, “This achievement is the result of the efforts of the bank’s teams across all sectors, and it gives us additional motivation to continue developing and innovating, achieving more accomplishments, and consolidating Boubyan’s position as one of the leading Islamic banks locally and regionally.”

Throughout 2026, Boubyan continued to solidify its standing among the major listed institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It ranked third in the Kuwaiti banking sector in MEED’s annual ranking of the top 100 listed companies in the region for 2026, and also placed third in the sector on Forbes Middle East’s list of the top 100 strongest listed companies in the region for 2026.

This accolade adds to the “Boubyan” bank’s distinguished record of prestigious awards and global recognition in digital banking, innovation, personal and private banking, corporate services and banking transactions, payment solutions, and the business and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sectors, reflecting the bank’s integrated business model and the development of its capabilities across various sectors.

The MEA Awards are granted to banking institutions based on a rigorous, multi-criteria methodology, evaluated by a panel of international banking experts and financial analysts. The assessment criteria include asset growth and profitability, credit portfolio quality, financial strength, innovation in products and digital services, strategic partnerships, business development, as well as the bank’s ongoing commitment to achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction and service quality.