The eyes of the regional banking industry focused on Emirates Towers on Sunday, March 18th, the venue for the first Banker Middle East Country Awards, UAE.

Around a hundred leading bankers from across the UAE attended the glittering ceremony, held under the kind patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al Neyahan. "The banks in the United Arab Emirates have done a fantastic job of serving their local customers’ needs. It is with much pleasure that I can help recognise those efforts by presenting the awards to the leaders in the industry,” His Excellency commented.

With leading banking solution provider Unisys as sponsor of the event, it was bound to be a success.

Held to recognise and reward banking excellence in the UAE, the award winners were as follows:

• The Banker Middle East Special Award for E-Services: ABN Amro, presented to Vineet Varma, head of corporate cash management MEA.
• The Banker Middle East Special Award for Innovation: Habib Bank AG Zurich, presented to Joint President, Reza Habib.
• The Banker Middle East Special Award for Consumer Banking: Citibank, presented to Ricky Maden, VP marketing sales.
• The Banker Middle East Special Award for Personal Banking: Standard Chartered Bank, presented to Sethu Venkateswaran, head of consumer banking MESA.
• Best Private Bank: Merrill Lynch, presented to Brij Singh, MD.
• Best Retail Bank: Emirates Bank, presented to Anis Al Jallaf, MD & CEO.
• Best Corporate Bank: HSBC, presented to Rick Pudner, head of corporate and institutional banking.