Kuwait - December 14 2011: Gulf Bank announced today that it has been named as the '2012 Best Foreign Exchange Bank Provider' in Kuwait by the Global Finance magazine. This award comes in recognition of the Bank's achievements in the foreign exchange markets in corporate and institutional banking over the last 12 months.

Grant Jackson, General Manager, Treasury at Gulf Bank said: "Gulf Bank is honored to receive this accreditation from a leading financial publication. This recognition is a further endorsement of the Bank's position as one of Kuwait's leading financial institutions. International and local companies depend on consistent and dependable counsel in managing their foreign exchange requirements and business transactions and at Gulf Bank we strive to provide exactly that."

"The last two years have seen us put Gulf Bank back on to a firm footing, and I believe we are now well positioned for future growth. We have strengthened our balance sheet significantly, made good progress to meet trading challenges in a difficult market, delivered good results by concentrating on our core banking areas of Consumer and Corporate Banking, and have greatly enhanced our levels of customer service. Our challenge now is to maintain our focus as we continue our development."

Today's award announcement is the latest of a number of other prestigious awards which Gulf Bank has received in 2011. Major awards include: 'Excellence in Finance' award at the 5th Annual CFO Middle East Strategies Forum 2011, 'Thought Leadership Excellence' Award at the MENA CIO's Summit 2011, the 'International Excellence in Retail Financial Services' award from The Asian Banker, the 'Best Retail Customer Service', the 'Best Phone Banking Service', the 'Best Corporate Governance' and 'Best Employee Training' awards from the Banker Middle East, the 'Quality Recognition Award' from Citibank, Deutsche Bank's Award for International Payment Performance and the 'GCC Localization Award' from the GCC Council of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs for the 7th consecutive year.

Grant Jackson, General Manager, Treasury at Gulf Bank