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Saudi Arabia’s Bank Al Jazira dominates the field of life takaful in terms of both volume and innovation, and helped to develop the Saudi insurance market following the introduction of new insurance legislation. The bank beat Munich-based financial services company FWU Group to take the top spot in this category.

Although Asad Zafar, managing director of HSBC Amanah, stresses that the bank’s activities are wider than just project financing, its activities in this field were remarkable in the 11 months from December 2004 to November 2005.

Search the results Dexia Asset Management has carved out a successful niche as a leader in socially responsible investment. It tops the poll for best provider of ethical investments globally and in western Europe, as well as in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Search the results Four years ago Brazil’s Banco Itaú committed itself to building a world-class private bank. Its efforts are already paying off

Deutsche Bank wins this award on the basis of innovation, the experience of its Islamic finance team, the breadth of its product range, and the frequency with which it advises other Islamic institutions or deals.

There is little to choose between the two Malaysian Islamic banking leaders, CIMB Islamic and AmMerchant, but CIMB comes out on top for the second year running because of the breadth and volume of its Islamic finance activities. CIMB Islamic is a bank within a bank and is responsible for CIMB Group’s Islamic finance business onshore and off. CIMB Islamic’s focus is on Islamic debt and equity capital markets, private equity, private banking, asset and fund management, and corporate finance. The bank’s head, Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, says the key to its success is the quality of its staff.

Euromoney might have found the ultimate gift for the finance nerd in your family. An interesting posting on Ebay appeared just before the festive season – a white Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by well-known names in finance including Warren Buffett, George Soros and Bill Gross. The guitar had been shipped around the US for two months to be signed by 19 industry figures and was being auctioned by hedge fund manager Todd Harrison for charity.

India’s private banking industry is booming. Indians living abroad and at home want to invest in the domestic markets. This is providing opportunities for local and international private banks. Kautilya Shastri reports.

The contest between DIB and CIMB Islamic for best sukuk house could not have been tighter. However, the standout deal over the past 12 months was DIB’s role as co-lead manager of a $600 million issue for the government of Malaysia. CIMB has failed to make significant strides in the Gulf, while DIB was able to snatch business from CIMB’s own backyard. Aref Kooheji, DIB’s executive vice-president of investment and corporate banking, says that DIB expects to do more deals in Malaysia and Asia more broadly in the future. Having lead managed the world’s only $1 billion sukuk al ijara, critics argued that DIB and other Islamic banks should be getting involved in more innovative sukuk deals rather than run-of-the-mill transactions. DIB responded to its critics with a string of landmark Islamic bond issuances between December 2004 and November 2005.