Mashreq Bank celebrates 50 years of significant growth

‘Most progressive bank that enables possibilities through innovation’

Mashreq Bank, the UAE’s oldest privately owned bank, celebrate its 50 year anniversary in Kuwait in the attendance of Rahma Husain AlZaabi, the UAE Ambassador to Kuwait, with clients, partners and key industry leaders in JW Marriot Kuwait. With 50 years of achievements, the bank is the regional leader when it comes to product and service innovation and customer service.

Mashreq Bank, originally called Bank of Oman, was formed by a decree from Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum in 1966, and formally opened on 1st May 1967. With the strong encouragement of His Highness Sheikh Rashid, Mashreq Bank has reached many milestones since then.

Mashreq’s first branch in Kuwait was inaugurated in November 2009, in line with the strong relationship and cooperation between the GCC countries. In 2009, Mashreq’s CEO Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair affirmed that Kuwait has one of the most successful and sophisticated banking systems in the GCC and holds strategic importance within the overall expansion plans for Mashreq. Today, Mashreq ranks number 25 on the Forbes Top 100 Arab Companies 2016 list. The World Finance Banking Awards also named Mashreq the Best Digital Bank. It has also won Gallup Great Workplace award for the 4th year in a row, with only 37 companies worldwide winning the award.

To mark the 50 year anniversary, Mashreq launched a new Vision to guide the next 50 years of the bank’s journey. Its Vision is to be the region’s most progressive bank, enabling innovative possibilities for its clients, colleagues and communities.

Commenting on the 50 year anniversary of the bank, Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair, Chief Executive Officer of Mashreq, said: “We have achieved many milestones in the past 50 years, but today is truly exciting. The launch of our new vision will undeniably drive the bank forward. Looking ahead, our underlying strategy is to continue to digitize the bank, make customer experience seamless, personalized and omni-channel, and lead into the future where banking goes entirely branchless. With 85% of Mashreq is retail customer transactions happening digitally, it is critical that we continue to develop new, innovative products and services that capitalizes on this growing trend.”

“To deliver on this promise, we will continue to innovate. Innovation has been deeply embedded in the DNA of Mashreq throughout the last 50 years, and it will continue to be core to our strategy moving forward. Having introduced many products, first to the market which are now considered the industry standard - such as the credit card, ATM and mobile banking app - I know we will only continue to further develop the sector. Through innovation, strong financial performance, and high levels of customer service, we will find ways to make possible.”

Mashreq Kuwait branch has participated in the financing of several mega projects, namely Kuwait University, Al-Zour South Power Station, and the Kuwait Clean Fuel project.