Kuwait Finance House (KFH) capped off a year of exceptional achievements in 2025, earning 58 prestigious awards and global rankings. These accolades confirm the bank's dominant standing and its successful history of driving the Islamic banking industry forward.

These awards underscore KFH’s excellence in developing banking services that meet customer aspirations and enhance their experience. They also acknowledge the bank’s strong operational performance, sustainable growth, and adoption of advanced digital technologies. Moreover, the honors celebrate KFH’s leadership in sustainability, corporate innovation, and social responsibility, alongside its success in human capital development and localization.

KFH Group CEO, Khaled Yousef AlShamlan, stated that these awards reflect the bank’s leadership and reinforce the confidence of shareholders and customers. He added that they also testify to the excellence and efficiency of the bank's employees in providing superior service according to the highest quality standards.

AlShamlan emphasized that KFH, the largest bank in Kuwait by market capitalization and the world’s second-largest Islamic bank, continues to drive growth across key sectors. By prioritizing a customer-centric approach and investing in cutting-edge technology, it further solidifies its leadership within the financial sector.

World’s Best Islamic Bank by Global Finance

KFH Group has been recognized with 9 prestigious awards in the 18th Global Finance annual awards for the Best Islamic Financial Institutions in 2025. The awards are: World’s Best Islamic Bank, World’s Best Islamic Retail Bank, World’s Best Islamic SME Bank, World’s Best Takaful Provider, World’s Best Islamic Project Finance Provider, Best Islamic Bank in the Middle East, Best Islamic Bank in Turkiye (Kuveyt Turk), Best Islamic Bank in Kingdom of Bahrain (KFH Bahrain), and Best Bank in Kingdom of Bahrain (KFH Bahrain).

Bank of The Year by The Banker

KFH was named the Bank of the Year 2025 - Kuwait by The Banker magazine. The Banker’s judging panel based its decision on meticulous financial data analysis, comparing growth and performance against a strategy of solid, consistent results. Strategic advantages, including investment in modern technology and innovation to expand business and improve customer satisfaction, were also key factors.

Euromoney’s Banking Excellence Awards

KFH Group has secured eight prestigious awards at Euromoney’s Banking and Islamic Finance Excellence Awards for the year 2025. The awards are: “The Middle East’s Best Islamic Bank”, “Kuwait’s Best Islamic Bank”, “Kuwait’s Best Bank”, “Kuwait’s Best Bank for SMEs”, “Kuwait's Best Investment Bank (KFH Capital), “The Middle East's Best Bank Transformation”, “Bahrain’s Best Islamic Bank”, and “Bahrain’s Best Digital Bank for Large Corporate”.

Best Islamic Bank by EMEA Finance

KFH has been recognized with four prestigious awards from EMEA Finance in the 17th edition of the Middle East Banking Awards 2025, in recognition of its leadership in the banking industry and its outstanding achievements in delivering innovative financial solutions and value-driven initiatives in Islamic banking.  The awards are the Best Islamic bank in the Middle East, Best Bank in Kuwait, Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait awards, and the Sustainability Award- Middle East Level.

These accolades underscore KFH’s esteemed position as a leading Islamic banking group and one of the most valuable and trusted financial brands locally and regionally, highlighting KFH’s success in the Kuwaiti markets and the Middle East region.

Best Islamic bank in Kuwait and the UK and the most Innovative Islamic bank

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Group has received 7 awards from the globally renowned Islamic Finance News (IFN) magazine. KFH was named Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait, Best Islamic Corporate Bank in Kuwait, Best Islamic Retail Bank in Kuwait, Most Innovative Islamic Bank in Kuwait and Best Islamic Investment Bank in Kuwait. Additionally, KFH Group secured the IFN Bahrain Deal of the Year 2024 for arranging an ESG-compliant financing facility worth $450 million. Meanwhile, KFH-UK won the Best New Islamic Bank award.

Best Investment Bank in Frontier Markets and Kuwait

KFH Capital, the investment arm of Kuwait Finance House Group, received the "Best Investment Bank in Frontier Markets" and "Best Investment Bank in Kuwait" awards from Global Finance magazine.

Global Finance, with input from industry experts, used a series of criteria to score and select winners. These criteria include market share, number and size of deals, service and advice, structuring capabilities, efforts to address market conditions, innovation, pricing, after-market performance of underwriting and market reputation.

Best Investment Bank in Kuwait by MEED

KFH won Best Investment Bank – Kuwait Award at the prestigious MEED MENA Banking Excellence – Corporate & Investment Awards 2025. KFH’s selection for this award followed a rigorous evaluation process that measured performance across several criteria, including market activity, advisory strength, innovation, and client impact. The bank demonstrated consistent excellence in all key areas of investment banking, solidifying its position as the top choice in this year’s awards.

Best Islamic Private Bank - Digital Innovation

KFH has been awarded "Best Islamic Private Bank- Digital Innovation 2025" by Global Private Banker magazine. This award recognizes KFH's successful transformation of its private banking and wealth management services for wealthy and high-net-worth clients.

9 Global Awards in Human Resources

KFH Group secured 9 global HR awards from the Brandon Hall Group, a world-renowned authority in institutional performance evaluation.

The awards earned by KFH Group are:

• Best High Potential Development (Gold)
• Best New Hire Onboarding Program (Gold)
• Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program (Gold)
• Best Talent Acquisition Process (Silver)
• Best Learning Experience Platform-LXP Implementation (Silver)
• Best Talent Management Strategy (Silver)
• Best Certification Program (Silver)
• Best Governance Model for Talent Management (Bronze)
• Best Certification Program (KFH – Egypt) (Gold)

Best Bank for Financial Institutions in the Middle East

KFH has been recognized as the "Best Bank for Financial Institutions in the Middle East for 2025" by Global Finance, as part of Global Finance's 25th annual Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks awards for 2025.

Best Performing Bank in Kuwait

KFH ranked 1st for Best Performing Bank in Kuwait, for The Banker’s Top 1000 Global Banks Rankings 2025. This prestigious ranking underscores KFH’s exceptional financial performance, highlighting the unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Most Innovative Private Bank

KFH has been named the MENA’s Most Innovative Private Bank for 2025 at MEED's MENA Banking Excellence Awards 2025 - Wealth & Private Banking.

Forbes awards

KFH Group CEO, Khaled Yousef AlShamlan, has been recognized on Forbes Middle East magazine's "The Middle East's Sustainability Leaders 2025” list. Moreover, KFH won the Most Sustainable Projects in the Middle East award for 2025 from Forbes Middle East magazine. This recognition from Forbes highlights the bank's sustainability initiatives, which included a $934.45 million investment in sustainability and green Sukuk in 2024.

Largest company in Kuwait

Forbes ranked KFH at the top of the list of the largest companies listed on Boursa Kuwait for 2025, with a market value of $43.4 billion (KD 13.4 billion).

Top CEOs

Forbes magazine selected KFH Group CEO, Khaled Yousef AlShamlan, as one of the top CEOs in the Middle East for 2025. Forbes based its selection on the CEOs' achievements and performance, as well as their roles in extending beyond simple management to shaping the future and linking efficiency with innovation. The selection also considered their success in aligning business growth with national visions, leading economic diversification, and their overall impact on the region, the markets they oversee, and the size of the companies they lead.

Best Private Bank for Islamic Services - Middle East

KFH received the “Best Private Bank for Islamic Services- Middle East” award at the 2025 Global Private Banking Awards, presented by Professional Wealth Management (PWM) magazine, a member of the Financial Times Group.

AI Excellence Award

KFH received the AI Excellence Award during the Microsoft AI Summit, which was hosted by State of Kuwait and attended by a select group of technology experts from the region.

Best-in-Class CIF Growth in Kuwait

KFH won 3 prestigious awards from VISA in recognition of its outstanding performance in 2024. These awards highlight KFH’s commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership in the banking sector, not to mention the keenness on continuously reinforcing the value of its banking cards. KFH won Best-in-Class CIF Growth in Kuwait, Best-in-Class Commercial Card Volume Growth in Kuwait, and Best-in-Class Cross Border Ecomm growth in Kuwait.

Most Influential Institutions in Legal Management

KFH Group’s Legal Department has been named one of the most influential legal institutions of 2025. Furthermore, Group Chief Legal Officer and Board Secretary, Fawaz Munawer Al-Enezi, was inducted into the GC Powerlist Kuwait 2025. He was awarded a Certificate of Excellence in recognition of his outstanding leadership, his efforts in managing the Group Legal Department, and his significant contributions to strengthening the department’s legal framework.

Senior Manager International and Subs Legal Affairs at KFH, Yousef Al-Obaidan Alazemi, has also been selected on this list, representing International Legal Affairs. The list is one of the most reputable international references for identifying top professional talents in the legal field.

ISO Certificates in Quality and Facilities Management

KFH received two ISO certifications for its Quality Management System and Facility Management System. This accomplishment underscores KFH’s commitment to the highest international business standards, operational discipline, service excellence, and alignment with Kuwait’s sustainability goals.

ISO Certification for Business Continuity Management

KFH attained ISO 22301 certification for its Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS) after successfully completing the required auditing procedures and meeting all certification standards in record time.
 

Banking Excellence Award

KFH received the Banking Excellence Award during its participation in the Kuwait Builders Summit 2025 (KBS), which was held under the patronage and in the presence of the Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs, Abdul Latif Al Mashari.

The award was based on specific criteria including quality, financial solvency, innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility. These criteria were determined for selecting the winners by an independent jury comprising a distinguished panel of academics, professionals, and consultants from various sectors.

These accolades underscore KFH’s brand equity and its record of excellence across multiple disciplines. Key achievements include superior customer service, the integration of cutting-edge digital technologies, and leadership in financial services and investment solutions. Moreover, they highlight the bank’s solid financial standing, its sustainability initiatives, and its leadership within the Islamic banking industry.