Kuwait- 22nd, February 2012: Gulf Bank today announced that it has been ranked amongst the Top 500 Banks by the strength, risk and potential of its brand, relative to its competitors by The Banker, the world's premier banking and finance resource. Michel Accad, Gulf Bank's Chief General Manager and Chief Executive Officer said: "I am proud that Gulf Bank has been included in The Banker's Top 500 Most Trusted Banks. Receiving this acknowledgement from one of the world's leading financial publications is a great honor. 2011 was a landmark year for Gulf Bank, and it is evident that the Bank has made significant progress in re-establishing its position in the Kuwait market. We were also the only bank in the region to have received an upgrade on outlook and rating from S&P. Looking to the future, our core objective remains focused on the needs of our customers, developing our customer base and delivering returns to our shareholders." The Banker's Brand ratings are calculated using Brand Finance's "Brand beta" analysis which benchmarks the strength, risk and potential of a brand, relative to its competitors, on a scale ranging from AAA to D. It is conceptually similar to a credit rating. The data used to calculate the ratings comes from various sources including Bloomberg annual reports and Brand Finance research.