Kuwait City, Mar 13: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) hosted its annual town hall meeting for employees and staff from the formerly Ahli United Bank-Kuwait (AUBK). The meeting, held at the Arraya Hall of the Courtyard Hotel, focused on KFH's major achievements, current challenges, and future goals.

KFH Chairman, Hamad Abdulmohsen Al Marzouq, Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Abdulwahab Iesa Al Rushood, Chief Executive Officer -KFH Kuwait, Khaled Yousef AlShamlan, and other executives were all in attendance.

KFH Chairman, Hamad Abdulmohsen Al Marzouq, during his speech at the townhall, emphasized the bank's strategic goal for the next decade to be among the top 100 banks globally. He highlighted the recent acquisition and merger with AUB as a significant milestone, solidifying KFH's position as both the largest bank in Kuwait and the world's second-largest Islamic bank by assets. This strategic move marks a new chapter in KFH's growth trajectory and is a key historic achievement.

"KFH has a strong blend of young talent and experienced professionals. This combination, coupled with increased cooperation and effort, will be instrumental in achieving its goals, " Al Marzouq emphasized. He expressed confidence that merging the abilities and skills of the formerly AUBK employees with those of KFH would be a welcome and valuable collaboration. This, he said, would help KFH achieve its future goals, including becoming the top Islamic bank globally.

Al Marzouq unveiled an ambitious plan by KFH's Board of Directors, targeting a place among the top 100 global banks within the next decade. He stressed that recent progress has paved the way for this goal and underscored how merger and acquisition of AUB support Kuwait's Vision 2035 to establish itself as a leading financial center regionally and internationally.

Al Marzouq said”: This meeting represents the culmination of a vision set in motion several years ago. It also symbolizes the collaborative efforts from both sides."

He expressed his pleasure in welcoming the new employees to the KFH family, emphasizing the importance of their contributions as key members of KFH, the largest bank in Kuwait and the second largest globally in terms of assets.

Al Marzouq stressed the importance of working together as a team to lead the global Islamic finance industry. He further reassured that the process of placing AUBK staff did not affect any of their rights, and the employees now enjoy all the benefits and rights provided by KFH without derogation or discrimination.

Furthermore, he emphasized that both the acquisition and the merger were conducted using scientific and methodological approaches. These approaches were driven by a clear economic vision to create a large economic and financial entity in a world that increasingly values powerful entities.

Following this vision, KFH underwent significant operational and impact changes in 2014. This transformation aimed to position KFH as a leader in the global expansion of Islamic financial services. The success of this transformation was demonstrably supported by positive indicators such as profitability, asset quality, and overall performance.

Al Marzouq further emphasized the importance of strategic expansion, through acquisitions or mergers, as a means of creating a powerful entity within the global market.

He outlined the stages of the acquisition and merger, mentioning that AUB was one of the three institutions considered.  He explained that after consulting with international experts, AUB emerged as the best option to achieve the vision of KFH. In 2020, KFH secured approval from shareholders and the Central Banks of Kuwait and Bahrain to proceed with KFH's acquisition of Ahli United Bank. On October 2, 2022, the acquisition of Ahli United Bank Group – Bahrain and its subsidiaries was officially completed, followed by a successful merger on February 22, 2024. This marked a significant milestone in the history of the Kuwaiti banking sector, setting the stage for a new era led by KFH and its employees.

The acquisition and merger, according to Al Marzouq, successfully achieved their intended objectives. The most critical objective is the advancement of the Islamic banking sector, spearheaded by KFH. This advancement positions Kuwait as the home of the world's largest and most prestigious Islamic bank.  This marks a significant milestone in KFH's strategy, paving the way for its global growth and evolution. With the implementation of expansionary policies, KFH is now better positioned to achieve substantial future growth. The presence of a large, Sharia-compliant banking institution was deemed essential, especially considering the relative youth of Islamic banking, existing for only six decades compared to the centuries-long history of conventional banks.

He elaborated on the numerous advantages of the acquisition, highlighting its positive financial impact. The acquisition boosted the size of KFH's assets, business, and capital base, leading to expected synergies in the average cost of funds and enhancing the financing capacity for mega projects globally. Additionally, the acquisition helped rationalize expenses, strengthen solvency, and expand into new markets. Furthermore, it diversified revenue streams from the Group's various units, which had expanded and established a presence in key international markets.

Al Marzouq expressed delight in the KFH family's continued growth and warmly welcomed colleagues from Ahli United Bank Kuwait. He highlighted the resulting expanded talent pool, boasting an impressive 84% Kuwaitization rate.

He emphasized the bank's commitment to fostering global leadership, aiming to benefit employees, customers, and shareholders alike. Al Marzouq further stressed the ambitious goal of becoming the world's leading Islamic bank, acknowledging the bank's significant growth and rapid international expansion in both business and activities.

He added that KFH currently operates in 12 countries, boasting a large international network of 640 branches. Notably, KFH holds the distinction of being the first Islamic bank in Germany and the first licensed under Malaysia's Banking Act.  Furthermore, KFH is the second largest Islamic financier in Turkiye. With a presence spanning across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, KFH demonstrates a strong global footprint.

Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Abdulwahab Iesa Al Rushood

Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Abdulwahab Iesa Al Rushood, welcomed KFH employees, including those who recently joined from the formerly AUB. He described the day as a historical moment in KFH's successful journey, highlighting the Bank's commitment to excellence, opportunities, leadership, and success.

Al Rushood praised KFH's accomplishments in the past year, particularly its strong financial performance. Notably, KFH's net financing income increased by 20.7% to KD 965.9 million, total operating income increased by 30.7% to KD 945.4 million, and net profit to shareholders surged by 63.4% to KD 584.5 million.

"Our commitment extends beyond words. We prioritize not only business growth and development but also the well-being of our employees and society. A prime example is Tam Bank, Kuwait's first Islamic Sharia-compliant digital bank, which demonstrates our commitment to digital innovation," Al Rushood said.

"Demonstrating our commitment to digital innovation, over 35 projects were successfully completed in 2023 to enhance our services, products, and technical systems. KFH also maintained its position as the top Primary Dealer in the IILM Primary and Secondary Sukuk Markets in 2023, for the third consecutive year. These recognitions, along with 26 other prestigious awards received at both local and international levels, demonstrate our excellence and leadership in Kuwait. Some of the notable awards include "Best Islamic Financial Institution in the World" by Global Finance and "Bank of the Year - Kuwait" by The Banker. Additionally, Euromoney recognized KFH as a Market Leader in five categories, including digital solutions, corporate banking, social responsibility, investment banking, and Islamic finance. Also, KFH was honored with three special awards from Brandon Hall Group for our employee recognition, engagement, and talent management programs, highlighting our dedication to our staff," he added.

Al Rushood emphasized that KFH boasts the largest pool of talent in Islamic banking within Kuwait, offering employees exceptional career advancement opportunities through training and education programs. Committed to developing its leaders, KFH saw 117 promotions to supervisory roles in the past year.  Furthermore, KFH proudly became the first Islamic bank in Kuwait to sign the United Nations Development Program's Agreement on the Principles for the Empowerment of Women. Currently, KFH has 84 women in supervisory positions, demonstrating its commitment to promoting gender diversity in its workforce and creating a supportive environment for women to thrive and succeed in leadership roles.

KFH considers its banking competencies and talent to be its most valuable asset. The bank boasts the largest talent pool in the Kuwaiti Islamic banking sector, making it a top choice for banking careers. KFH is committed to employee success by providing training opportunities. In 2023 alone, KFH delivered over 83,000 hours of training to more than 3,000 employees, with an additional 34 employees participating in overseas conferences. KFH also offers internship opportunities with prestigious international universities like Harvard Business School and INSEAD. In 2023, 130 employees participated in these programs.

"Leveraging KFH's global network, we offer an annual program allowing KFH employees in Kuwait to work at our Turkish branches during the summer break. Last year, we partnered with Headspring, IE Business School, and the Financial Times to deliver the KFH Leaders Training Program to 50 KFH managers. Alongside them, 40 high-achieving graduates from Kuwaiti universities participated in the program through Foorsah. Our aim is to equip these graduates with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the banking industry and achieve their career goals,” Al Rushood said.

Al Rushood highlighted KFH's significant contributions to social responsibility. "These include the reconstruction of around 17 buildings and the development of surrounding area in Al Mubarakiya. The total cost of the Mubarakiya reconstruction project is estimated at KD 8 million. Additionally, KFH donated KD 7 million to the National Campaign for Debtors and KD 6 million for earthquake relief efforts, with KD 3 million each directed towards Turkiye and Syria," he added.

Al Rushood said that KFH's top priorities include leveraging data and analytics to increase customer loyalty, collaborating with leading international Fintech companies on innovative solutions, and fostering a culture of innovation at both strategic and leadership levels within KFH to create additional value. KFH also aims to strengthen data security and enhance cloud digital solutions.