NBAD Ranked Middle East’s Safest Bank

The National Bank of Abu Dhabi has been ranked one of the safest banks in the world and the safest in the Middle East.

An annual list by Global Finance magazine ranking the world’s safest banks has placed NBAD in 31st position, with three other banks in the region making the top 50.

National Bank of Kuwait came in at 34th, Qatar National Bank at 40th and Samba Financial Group at 41st. The ranking was Global Finance’s 21st annual list.

Michael Tomalin, NBAD’s group chief executive, said: “We are proud to be recognised as one of World’s 50 Safest Banks and to be listed as the safest bank in the Middle East and the UAE.

“This recognition reflects NBAD’s solid strategy and the prudent risk management it has adopted during the market instability. It also confirms NBAD’s robust management and its strong financial position over the years.”

Global Finance said Europe’s sovereign debt crisis had impacted significantly on bank’s ratings amid slowing growth.

Despite this, the top five safest spots all went to European banks, with Germany’s KfW coming in first.

Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten, Zurcher Kantonalbank of Switzerland, Germany’s Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg – Forderbank occupied the remaining top five places.

In North America, Canadian banks performed best with a total of seven institutions in the list in comparison to five from the United States.

In Latin America, Chilean banks performed strongest while finance houses in Singapore were best in Asia’s booming market.