continued... - Islamic Finance News

Islamic Finance news Guide 2008
Page 118
Members of the global Islamic fi nance industry have cast their votes on who
they perceived as the best of the best in the 2007 Islamic Finance news Annual
Poll. A record 1,502 votes were cast during the December polling period in the
industry’s most comprehensive survey. A total of 35 categories were contested,
representing all major facets of the global Islamic capital markets industry.
The full results, which were originally published on the 4 th January, are reproduced
on the following page.
Kuwait Finance House scooped the award for Overall Best Islamic Bank, edging out Dubai Islamic Bank, which had claimed
top spot for the past two years while Malaysia’s CIMB Islamic Bank placed third for the second year running.
For the second consecutive year, the battle for Best Islamic Retail Bank was the closest fought, and again Saudi Arabia’s Al
Rajhi Bank emerged victorious over Dubai Islamic Bank.
In the Best New Islamic Finance Bank category, Bahrain’s Global Banking Corporation beat Singapore’s The Islamic Bank of
Asia and Dubai’s Noor Islamic Bank into second and third respectively.
In the poll’s most one-sided battle, Bank Negara Malaysia once again eclipsed its nearest rivals for the Best Central Bank in
Promoting Islamic Finance category. With the vast majority of votes in this category coming from outside Asia, Malaysia is still
widely recognized as the most industry-friendly country.
Ernst & Young claimed the Best Islamic Advisory Firm award, Parsoli Corporation of India won Best Islamic Brokerage Firm and
Dow Jones Indexes was selected for its impressive array of Islamic-based indices in the Best Islamic Index Provider.
Clifford Chance leapfrogged Norton Rose, the 2006 winner, for Best Law Firm in Islamic Finance following another busy year.
Other winners were Prudential Fund Management, Standard & Poor’s and International Turnkey Systems for the Best Islamic
Fund Manager, Ratings Agency and Technology Provider sectors respectively.
In the individual country categories, there were wins for Bahrain Islamic Bank (Bahrain); Islamic Bank of Brunei (Brunei);
Faisal Islamic Bank (Egypt); Bank Syariah Mandiri (Indonesia); Kuwait Finance House (Kuwait); CIMB Islamic Bank (Malaysia);
Meezan Bank (Pakistan); Qatar Islamic Bank (Qatar); Al Rajhi Bank (Saudi Arabia); The Islamic Bank of Asia (Singapore);
Türkiye Finans (Turkey); Dubai Islamic Bank (UAE) and European Islamic Investment Bank (Europe).
Methodology
THE RESULTS ARE OUT
Best Overall Islamic Bank
1 st 2 nd 3 rd
Kuwait Finance House — 27% Dubai Islamic Bank — 21% CIMB Islamic Bank — 13%
A record 1,502 submissions were received for the third Islamic Finance news Annual Poll, a 22% increase over those received
for the 2006 edition. Following strict due diligence, however, 186 of those votes were eliminated due to irregularities.
Thirty-fi ve categories were contested in the 2007 poll, four more than the previous year.
Islamic fi nance issuers, investors, non-banking fi nancial intermediaries and government bodies from around the world were
invited to participate. Participants were requested to take only 2007 into consideration when casting their votes.
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