| Kuwait Towers: the state's leading bank has a commanding role in regional transactions |
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Awards for Excellence 2002
Best bank: National Bank of Kuwait
Best debt house: Merrill Lynch
Best equity house: UBS Warburg
Best M&A house: Deutsche Bank
Best at custody: Citigroup
Best at risk management and treasury: Citigroup
Best at cash management: HSBC
National Bank of Kuwait reclaims its position as the best bank in the Middle East from last year's winner Gulf International Bank. The contest between the two is close, but this year NBK's more diversified earnings base, financial strength, and growing regional influence give it the advantage. Its strategic alliance with National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia, has helped it to gain a toehold in the region's largest market.
In investment banking, NBK is one of the only GCC banks capable of structuring and underwriting large regional capital market transactions.
Its diversified business lines also include a highly successful asset management business that it runs through a joint venture in London with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, managing $4 billion of assets.