Mashreq Bank celebrates 50th anniversary

Mashreq Bank, the UAE’s oldest privately-owned bank, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in Bahrain with the attendance of key industry leaders, clients and partners at the Gulf Hotel. 

With 50 years of achievements, the bank is the regional leader when it comes to product and service innovation and customer service. 

Mashreq Bank, originally called Bank of Oman, was formed by a decree from His Highness Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum in 1966, and formally opened on 1 May 1967. With the strong encouragement of Shaikh Rashid, Mashreq Bank has reached many milestones since then.

Mashreq’s presence in Bahrain started in 1981, in line with the strong relationship and cooperation between the GCC countries. 

Mashreq started its operations in the Kingdom as an Offshore Banking Unit (currently Wholesale Branch) and then converted the licence to a retail branch in 2005. The Central Bank has recently approved Mashreq Bank’s application for a wholesale license, in addition to the existing retail license. The bank has been a true partner to its clients in Bahrain and has supported the requirements of many clients in various sectors in the economy, it said. 

Today, Mashreq ranks number 25 on the Forbes Top 100 Arab Companies 2016 list. The World Finance Banking Awards also named Mashreq the Best Digital Bank. It has also won the Gallup Great Workplace Award for the fourth year in a row, with only 37 companies worldwide winning the award.

To mark the 50th anniversary, Mashreq launched a new vision to guide the next 50 years of the bank’s journey. Its vision is to be the region’s most progressive bank, enabling innovative possibilities for its clients, colleagues and communities.

Commenting on the 50th anniversary, Mashreq Chief Executive Officer Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair said: “We have achieved many milestones in the past 50 years, but today is truly exciting. The launch of our new vision will undeniably drive the bank forward. Looking ahead, our underlying strategy is to continue to digitise the bank, make customer experience seamless, personalised and omni-channel and lead into the future where banking goes entirely branchless. With 85% of retail customer transactions happening digitally, it is critical that we continue to develop new, innovative products and services that capitalise on this growing trend.”

 “To deliver on this promise, we will continue to innovate. Innovation has been deeply embedded in the DNA of Mashreq throughout the last 50 years and it will continue to be core to our strategy moving forward. Having introduced many products first to the market which are now considered the industry standard – such as the credit card, ATM and mobile banking app – I know we will only continue to further develop the sector. Through innovation, strong financial performance and high levels of customer service, we will find ways to make possible.”

Mashreq Bahrain has participated in the financing of several landmark projects in the Kingdom, such as the Bahrain Airport Expansion, Lead Arranger for Gulf Air, Arranger for ALBA syndication and Bahrain Steel syndication.