Kuwait - 15 March 2011 , Gulf Bank received the 'International Excellence in Retail Financial Services' Award from The Asian Banker, one of the Asian region's leading consultancies in financial services research, benchmarking and intelligence. The awards ceremony was held Award Ceremony took place during the 10th International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention in the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 11 March 2011. Aly Shalaby, General Manager of Consumer Banking Group at Gulf Bank said: 'We are proud to win the prestigious 'International Excellence in Retail Financial Services' Award from the Asian Banker. This award recognises the Bank's remarkable success and is testament to the progress that Gulf Bank has made in Kuwait. It further reinforces our reputation as a market leader in retail banking services and we continue to work towards sustaining our levels of customer service and to be seen as Kuwait's preferred local Bank.' Attending the event and accepting the award on behalf of Gulf Bank was Aly Shalaby, General Manager of the Consumer Banking Group, Mark Magnacca, Chief Marketing Officer and Ebtihaj Al-Roumi, Assistant General Manager, Marketing.

During the convention, a two hour round table dialogue involving more than 20 retail banking leaders from over 18 countries in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions took place, where they discussed current issues affecting the shape and future of the retail banking industry. Topics discussed included key trends in retail banking; recent developments in risk management and customer analytics; the money in retail payments; social media marketing to reach the Generation 'Y' customer, internet banking, mobile banking and contactless payments; current developments in channels and branch banking. Gulf Bank has won numerous prestigious awards, in 2010 its awards included Best Retail Bank from Arabian Business magazine, Best Public Relations Campaign within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Best Loyalty Program, Best Customer Contact Center, all from Banker Middle East, the Citi Performance Excellence Award for International Payments, and the JP Morgan Quality Recognition Award for Operational Excellence. Last year, Gulf Bank also won the GCC Localization Award from GCC Ministry of Social Affairs for the sixth consecutive year, the GCC Employer of the Year at the 2nd GCC Human Resource Excellence Awards ceremony, in addition to 'Best Customer Interactivity' award at the Second Annual Competition for 'Banking Web' awards. The Asian Banker is a company that provides information for the financial services industry in the form of publications, online materials such as e-newsletters, research, and conventions, and other industry gatherings. It is regarded as one of the Asian region's leading consultancies in financial services research, benchmarking and intelligence.