Emirates NBD Secures 12 Major Honours at the 2026 Euromoney Awards for Excellence and Islamic Finance Awards
Emirates NBD, a leading banking group serving the Middle East, North Africa, Türkiye and South Asia (MENATSA) region, has strengthened its position across retail banking, investment banking, sustainable finance, customer experience and responsible banking after securing 12 major regional and national honours at the 2026 Euromoney Awards for Excellence and Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards.
The recognition, achieved by Emirates NBD alongside its investment banking arm Emirates NBD Capital, highlights the Group’s broad range of capabilities across consumer and corporate banking while recognising its continued investment in digital transformation, customer-centric services, sustainable finance and international expansion.
Among the awards received by the Group are Middle East’s Best Retail Bank, Middle East’s Best for Customer Experience, Middle East’s Best Bank for ESG, UAE’s Best Bank for ESG, UAE’s Best Bank, UAE’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility and UAE’s Best for Consumer Lending. Emirates NBD Capital also secured important investment banking recognition, including Middle East’s Best Investment Bank for SSAs.
The collection of awards comes as Emirates NBD continues to expand its regional and international footprint while investing in technology, new financial products and sustainable banking frameworks.
Strengthening Regional Retail Banking Leadership
Emirates NBD’s recognition as Middle East’s Best Retail Bank reflects its continued focus on transforming the consumer banking experience through technology, personalised services and expanded digital capabilities.
The bank has increasingly incorporated artificial intelligence, data-driven insights and digital onboarding into its retail banking proposition. These capabilities are designed to make financial services more accessible while reducing friction across different stages of the customer journey.
Digital transformation has become a central component of Emirates NBD’s retail strategy. Customers increasingly expect banking services to be available through intuitive digital channels, while also receiving relevant products and services based on their individual financial requirements.
Emirates NBD has responded by developing digital banking features supported by AI-driven capabilities and streamlined onboarding processes. These initiatives are intended to create more personalised interactions while allowing customers to complete more banking activities without relying exclusively on traditional branch-based services.
The award also reflects the Group’s expanding retail presence across key markets in the MENATSA region, where changing customer expectations and increasing digital adoption are reshaping the competitive banking landscape.
Customer Experience Becomes a Core Banking Priority
Emirates NBD was also recognised as Middle East’s Best for Customer Experience, highlighting the Group’s efforts to establish consistent service standards across its digital and physical channels.
Over the past year, the bank has continued embedding unified customer experience standards across multiple customer touchpoints. This approach brings together digital platforms, branches, contact centres and other service channels to create a more consistent experience.
Predictive analytics and real-time customer feedback have become important elements of this strategy. By analysing customer interactions and feedback, the bank can identify areas where banking journeys can be simplified and respond more quickly to emerging customer needs.
The Group reported a Net Promoter Score of 58, reflecting its ongoing focus on customer satisfaction and service quality.
The broader shift toward customer-centric banking is also changing how financial institutions measure performance. Beyond traditional measures such as product volumes and transaction activity, banks increasingly monitor customer engagement, satisfaction, convenience and the ability to resolve customer requirements efficiently.
For Emirates NBD, the customer experience strategy is therefore closely connected with its wider digital transformation programme.
Expanding Its Sustainable Finance Leadership
Sustainable finance represents another major area of recognition for Emirates NBD, with the Group receiving both Middle East’s Best Bank for ESG and UAE’s Best Bank for ESG.
The awards recognise the bank’s efforts to expand green and transition finance, develop ESG-labelled financial instruments and integrate environmental and social considerations into corporate lending activities.
The financial sector has an increasingly important role in supporting businesses as they transition toward lower-carbon and more sustainable operating models. Banks can influence this transition through the financing structures they offer, the projects they support and the sustainability considerations incorporated into lending decisions.
Emirates NBD has sought to strengthen this role through the development of dedicated sustainable finance frameworks and financial products.
A notable milestone was the bank’s development of the UAE’s first dedicated Transition Finance Framework, aligned with standards established by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Loan Market Association (LMA).
The framework is intended to support corporate and institutional customers undertaking transformation toward more sustainable business models. Transition finance is particularly relevant for companies operating in sectors where immediate decarbonisation may be difficult but where there is a defined pathway toward improved environmental performance.
By establishing a framework specifically focused on transition finance, Emirates NBD is positioning sustainable finance as a tool that can support businesses throughout their transformation journeys rather than focusing exclusively on projects that already meet traditional green-finance criteria.
Emirates NBD Named UAE’s Best Bank
At the national level, Emirates NBD received the title of UAE’s Best Bank, further reinforcing its position within the country’s financial services sector.
The recognition follows a strong financial performance during the first half of 2026. Emirates NBD reported AED 16.2 billion in profit before tax, representing a 5% year-on-year increase.
The performance was supported by a 13% increase in net interest income as well as a significant 25% rise in non-funded income.
The results come as Emirates NBD continues to pursue a strategy combining organic growth with international expansion. The Group recently completed the acquisition of RBL Bank and announced the acquisition of HSBC Egypt’s retail banking business.
These transactions represent important steps in the Group’s international expansion strategy and are expected to broaden its customer base, geographic reach and diversification across markets.
The expansion also supports Emirates NBD’s wider ambition to strengthen its position as a major banking group across the MENATSA region and beyond.
Recognition for Corporate Responsibility
Emirates NBD also received the title of UAE’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility, recognising initiatives focused on community empowerment, Emiratisation and social impact investment.
Corporate responsibility has become increasingly integrated into the strategic priorities of financial institutions, particularly as banks seek to contribute to economic development and wider community outcomes.
For Emirates NBD, the recognition reflects initiatives extending beyond traditional banking activities. These include programmes designed to support local communities, develop national talent and contribute to social and economic inclusion.
The Group’s Emiratisation efforts are also aligned with the broader development of the UAE’s financial services workforce. By investing in national talent and professional development, banks can contribute to the development of specialised financial and technology capabilities within the country.
Consumer Lending Capabilities Recognised
Emirates NBD was additionally named UAE’s Best for Consumer Lending, reflecting its range of personal finance and consumer banking products.
The bank’s consumer lending proposition includes personal finance solutions, digital loan approvals and card products designed to provide customers with greater convenience and access to financial services.
Digital processes have increasingly changed the consumer lending experience, allowing customers to submit applications and receive decisions more efficiently. Emirates NBD’s continued investment in digital lending supports this shift while complementing its focus on responsible lending.
The recognition also highlights the role of consumer finance within the Group’s broader retail banking strategy, as customers increasingly seek flexible and digitally accessible borrowing solutions.
Emirates NBD Capital Strengthens Investment Banking Position
Emirates NBD Capital contributed significantly to the Group’s overall performance at the awards, securing three major investment banking titles.
Among them was Middle East’s Best Investment Bank for SSAs, recognising its role in arranging sovereign, supranational and agency transactions across the region.
The SSA market represents an important part of Middle Eastern capital markets, connecting sovereign and government-related issuers with international and regional investors.
Emirates NBD Capital has continued to expand its capabilities in this area, supporting clients with financing, capital markets execution and structured solutions.
The award reinforces the investment bank’s position within a market where large-scale transactions require extensive distribution capabilities, investor relationships and knowledge of regional financial markets.
Global Loan Solutions Supports Large-Scale Financing
Emirates NBD Capital’s Global Loan Solutions (GLS) desk also delivered significant transaction volumes during the year.
The desk closed more than 112 syndicated loan transactions, mobilising more than USD 100 billion in total financing.
Sovereign wealth funds, government-related entities and supranational institutions represented approximately 15% of the transactions concluded during the period.
The scale of this activity demonstrates the role of syndicated lending in supporting large financing requirements across the region. Such transactions can bring together multiple financial institutions to provide substantial funding while distributing exposure among participating lenders.
For Emirates NBD Capital, the activity also demonstrates the breadth of its relationships with major institutional borrowers and its ability to structure and coordinate complex financing transactions.
A Broad Recognition Across Banking Activities
The 12 awards received at the 2026 Euromoney Awards for Excellence and Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards span multiple areas of banking, from retail services and customer experience to ESG, corporate responsibility, consumer lending and investment banking.
Together, the recognitions highlight the breadth of Emirates NBD’s operating model and its efforts to develop capabilities across both traditional and emerging areas of financial services.
The awards come at a period of significant transformation for the banking industry. Digital adoption, artificial intelligence, sustainability requirements, changing customer expectations and evolving capital markets are influencing how banks design products and deliver services.
Emirates NBD’s strategy combines technology-led retail banking with large-scale corporate and investment banking capabilities, while sustainable finance and international expansion remain important elements of its broader growth agenda.
The Group’s latest recognition therefore reflects not only its performance across individual banking categories but also the increasing integration of technology, customer experience, sustainable finance and international market capabilities within its overall banking strategy.
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