Arab Bank
Arab Bank, which won Asiamoney’s best bank honours last year, spent the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 reminding clients why it is deserving of that award, plus more, this year.
It began navigating a fast-changing economic landscape during the pandemic from a position of strength: solid capital adequacy ratios, a strong funding pipeline, healthy credit-quality ratings and a battle-tested leadership team.
That meant a measure of grace under pressure that served shareholders well. With the basics well under control, Arab Bank’s management calmly and methodically scaled up digital banking platforms, both to support customers and to facilitate a sudden work-from-home imperative that no CEO saw coming. Thanks largely to its nimbleness and tech prowess, Arab Bank did an exemplary job of supporting corporate, SME and retail customers as the pandemic shook global markets.
It played a leading role in government efforts to ease burdens on clients. Loans were rapidly restructured, payments deferred or reoriented, and borrowing costs lowered for the most impacted sectors, particularly new and smaller enterprises.
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