Kuwait - 18 August, 2010: Gulf Bank announced today that it has received the ?J.P.Morgan Quality Recognition Award? for its operational excellence in MT103 commercial payments for the year 2009. Mr. Ali Moosa, Managing Director ? Head Financial Institutions, MENA presented the award on behalf of J.P. Morgan on Tuesday 17 August at Gulf Bank?s head office.

Mr. Khaled Al Mutawa, General Manager- International Banking said: ?We are proud to be recognized by such a renowned financial institution as J.P. Morgan and very honored to receive this award today. These awards mirror the successful hard work and dedication of our operations team in achieving the best in class in processing and solutions that meet customers? financial demands. It further reinforces our reputation as a market leader in operations, service and quality.?

Today?s announcement comes on top of a number of other major awards which Gulf Bank has recently received. These include ?Best Retail Bank? award for superior customer service and innovation in retail banking, ?Best Contact & Service Center?, ?Best Public Relations Campaign for Corporate Social Responsibility?, ?Best New Product? for the innovative Al Danah account, ?Best Employer? award in the GCC at the GCC Human Resource Excellence Awards, Localization Award from the GCC Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs for the 5th consecutive year and ?Best Loyalty Program? award.

The prestigious J.P. Morgan Quality Recognition Award recognizes leading financial institutions worldwide which have state-of-the-art international ?straight-through-processing? (STP) electronic payment services.