Press Release

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named “Best Islamic Bank in Qatar” at the EMEA Finance Awards 2013.

EMEA Finance is a leading bimonthly global industry publication that reports on the major events and happenings across the financial services industry  in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (the EMEA region).

Barwa Bank employees gathered together to celebrate Qatar National Day, as part of the bank’s commitment towards Qatar and its people, during a special ceremony held at Barwa Bank Headquarters on Tuesday 17thDecember.

 As a local Shari’ah compliant bank, Barwa Bank management and employees felt that it’s crucial to express their collective sense of national pride and come together to celebrate what it means to live in Qatar. During the ceremony, employees were handed out Qatari flags and gifts to commemorate the heritage and traditions of the State of Qatar.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named as winner of the International Finance Magazine Awards 2013, for “Best Islamic Bank”, “Fastest Growing Bank”, “Best Financial Website Design”, “Best Sukuk Arranger” in Qatar.

The prestigious awards ceremony was held on Wednesday 18 December in Dubai. Attending on behalf of Bawa Bank was Keith Bradley, Group Chief Operating Officer &GM International and Bashar Jallad, Group Treasurer &Chief Investment Officer.

Barwa Bank Group, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named as “Best Bank” and“Best Premium Bank” globally, as well as“Best Domestic Commercial Bank” in Qatar at the Islamic Business & Finance Awards 2013

These awards were established by CPI Financial in 2005 to recognise the best performing institutions in a variety of regions where Islamic finance is either already developed or is rapidly expanding.

Mr. Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank attended the Awards ceremony held on 11th December at Jumeirah Emirates Hotel in Dubai.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has recently been awarded OHSAS 18001:2007 Certification for its Occupational, Health and Safety Standards, as well as ISO 9001:2008 Certification for its Quality and Business Excellence Management System across its operations. In doing so it became the first Bank in Qatar to achieve these milestones. 

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider is proud to announce that Mr. Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank has been named “Banking CEO of the Year” at the MENA 2013 Awards held by The European Magazine. The European Magazine Awards acknowledges businesses and organisations that develop and advance the regional economy with several companies recognised for their outstanding performance in their respective fields.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, congratulates Fawziya Al Abdulla, Group Head of Human Resources for winning aprestigious award in the Innovation category at the Qatar Businesswomens’ Awards for 2013, on 11th November 2013 at the St. Regis Hotel Doha, Qatar.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service providerhas announced the appointment of Arsalaan Ahmed as its Head of Capital Financing.

 Ahmed will be focused on managing the growth of the bank’s sukuk, syndicated finance, project finance and structured finance product offering. 

 Ahmed is an ex-HSBC Group International Executive specialising in Islamic finance and has held multiple roles for the Group across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. 

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named “Islamic Bank of the Year” by Acquisition International magazine.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant bank, has been named as winner of the Arabian Business Achievement Awards Qatar 2013 for “Bank of the Year” during a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Doha on Tuesday 24 September. Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank commented, “We are delighted to be recognised as Bank of the Year.

Barwa Bank, recently closed a USD125 mnfinancing deal with Topaz Energy and Marine (“Topaz”), one of the leading global offshore supportvessel companies, to finance 12 vessels operated in the Arabian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named the winner of Global Banking and Finance Review Awards 2013, for “Fastest Growing Islamic Bank”, “Best Premium Islamic Card”, “Best Sukuk Manager”, “Most Innovative Shari’ah Compliant Product” and “Best Internet Bank” in Qatar.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named the winner of International Finance Magazine (IFM) Financial Awards for Qatar 2013 for “Best Islamic Bank”, “Fastest Growing Bank”, “Best Sukuk Arranger” and “Best Financial Website Design”.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider has announced its financial results for the period ended June 30, 2013.

 Profits were QAR 303.6mn for the six months ended June 30, 2013 up from QAR 162.9mn in the same period of last year, an 85% improvement.

 Return on Equity increased from 6.6% to 11%, with Earnings per Share increased from QAR 0.55 to QAR 1.01 on the back of a 10% increase in total assets to QAR27.8bn.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growingShari’ah compliant banking group, held a  sponsorship signing ceremony with Mashrou’ Al Baraha, an event organised by Qatar Charity from the third to nineteenth day of Ramadan at Aspire Zone aimed at educating families on the principles and virtues of Islam.

Attending the signing ceremony on Thursday 11th July was Mr.Steve Troop, CEO, Bawa Bank and Mr. Ibrahim Bin Abdullah Al Muhanadi, CEO Qatar Charity.

Nakilat increases its ownership in Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd.as the joint venture expands its fleet from four to six vessels with refinancing from QIB and Barwa Bank 

Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd., a joint venture (JV) between Nakilatand Maran Ventures Inc., has secured Islamic refinancing worth US $662.4 million that will see the JV expand its fleet and Nakilat increase its ownership of the JV.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, today announced that it has won the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards 2012“Deal of the Year in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa)” for its Joint Lead Manager role on the US$ 4bn State of Qatar Sukuk .

 At its sixth annual Achievement Awards Charity Dinner held on 20th June 2013 in London, the international financial magazine EMEA Finance recognised the outstanding deal and marked Barwa Bank’s increasing presence in the Islamic Capital Markets.

GEMS Education, one of the largest K-12 private school operators in the world has partnered with The First Investor (TFI), (the investment banking division of Barwa Bank Group (BBG)), Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) and Tanween to fund the development of two private schools in Al Wakra to support the private education sector in Qatar.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named the winner of Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2013 for “Best Islamic Bank”, “Best Sukuk Arranger” and “Fastest Growing Bank in Qatar”. Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank was also recognised receiving the “Banker of the Year” award during the ceremony on 19th June at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai.

Barwa Bank, Qatar’s fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, was the proud Silver Sponsor of Buddylicious, an exclusive cooking workshop organised by Stenden University Qatar and Event Management for 30 students from Best Buddies AlShafallah, on Sunday 9th June, 2013 at Al Jazi Compound, West Bay.

The First Investor QSCC (TFI) and Hines announced today the closing of a J.P. Morgan led bank syndicate to provide construction financing for the landmark mixed-use CityCenterDC (CCDC) project that is currently under construction in downtown Washington, D.C. The project is believed to be one of the largest downtown developments currently underway in the U.S.

Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO), one of the leading industrial companies in the State, is pleased to announce having secured a 1.1 billion Qatari Riyals facility from Barwa Bank, one of the fastest growing banks in Qatar, at very competitive terms.

Over the coming years, QAPCO is planning a significant unprecedented expansion in terms of volume and size of its business and production.

The First Investor (TFI), the investment banking division of Barwa Bank Group (BBG) is pleased to announce the signing of a joint venture agreement with Project Management & Development Co. (PMDC), the first major initiative in the region that will invest in income-generating expatriate residential compounds in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant bank, has acted  as Joint Lead Manager on Albaraka Turk Participation Bank’s (ABT) US$200m Tier 2 Sukuk. This transaction represents the first Sukuk Murabaha transaction issued in the international capital markets from Turkey.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, congratulates Ziyad Rahim, its Head of Market Risk, who recently broke the Guinness World Record for the Marathon Grand Slam in just 41 days, smashing the previous record of 324 days which stood for over six years.

The Board of Directors of Barwa Bank Group, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking group, held its Board Meeting chaired by H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Bank.

The meeting follows the election of its new Board Members for the term 2013 – 2015 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 14, 2013. The meeting included a presentation from the Executive Management during which the Board of Directors were briefed on the Group's current performance, as well as the bank’s future plans for sustained growth.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari'ah compliant banking service provider, recently launched its first equity fund: “The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund (Q)”. The Fund manager is The First Investor, (TFI), the investment division of Barwa Bank Group.

The First Investor (TFI), the investment banking subsidiary of Barwa Bank Group has won the award for “Best Investment Fund”, one of the highly-regarded “Banker Middle East” Product Awards 2013: a special hand-over ceremony was held at Barwa Bank Group headquarters on Monday 22nd April.

 TFI received the accolade from Banker Middle East for its TFI GCC Equity Opportunities Fund, a Shari’ah compliant equity fund focused on GCC Equities which TFI launched in November 2012 and attracted nearly 90 million Qatari Riyals during the first month of subscription.

Barwa Bank Group, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been named the winner of Banker Middle East Product Awards 2013, for both Best Branch Design and Best Premium Islamic Card for a Platinum Credit Card.

 Barwa Bank received the awards from CPI Financial on Monday 22nd April at the Barwa Bank Headquarters. Attending from Barwa Bank were Mr. Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank and Mr. Hussain Al Abdullah, Head of Retail Banking.

Barwa Bank, Qatar's fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, was the Official Banking Partner for the Arab Future Cities Summit 2013, “Smart Solutions for Sustainable Cities" which was held on 22nd - 23rd April, 2013 at St. Regis, Doha.

The bank was proud to support the second annual Arab Future Cities Summit, following the huge success of the 2012 event, which hosted over 300 delegates and provided an international platform for knowledge sharing about smart city concepts and technologies.