Winners of Prestigious World Islamic Banking Awards

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PRESS RELEASE

Adnan Yousif wins Islamic Banker of the Year 2009 at 16th Annual WIBC

Manama, 8th December 2009: The winners of the prestigious WIBC World Islamic Banking Awards were recognized last night at an impressive gala dinner ceremony of the 16th annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2009) held at the Gulf Hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain. WIBC is convened under the Patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the awards were presented by H.E. Rasheed Al Maraj, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain. Presented each year of the past 16 years to industry leaders who have distinguished themselves in the field of Islamic Finance, the WIBC Awards are among the oldest and most prestigious in the world.

The Islamic Banker of the Year was awarded to Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President & Chief Executive Officer of Al Baraka Banking Group. in addition to this role leading the Group through the challenges of the global financial crisis, Mr. Yousif has also dedicated himself to several other key strategic initiatives in the broader interests of the Islamic finance industry. Furthermore, in his capacity as a Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, Mr. Yousif has offered new proposals and espoused strong support for the future health of the banking industry.

The recipient of this prestigious award is voted by his peers in the industry with the results audited by Ernst & Young. Mr. Yousif is the first person to win the Islamic Banker of the Year a second time; having first won it back in 2004.

The ceremony was attracted international and regional industry leaders. More than 1,200 delegates from over 50 countries attended the 16th annual WIBC, the World's largest and most influential gathering of Islamic Finance leaders.

Al Baraka Banking Group is a Bahrain Joint Stock Company listed on Bahrain and NASDAQ Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic bank with Standard & Poor’s long and short-term credit ratings of BBB- and A-3 respectively. Al Baraka Banking Group offers retail, corporate and investment banking and treasury services strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari'a. The authorised capital of Al Baraka Banking Group is US$1.5 billion, while total equity amounts to about US$1.6 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking Units and representative offices in twelve countries, which in turn provide their services through more than 300 branches. These banking Units are Jordan Islamic Bank, Jordan; Al Baraka Islamic Bank, Bahrain; Al Baraka Islamic Bank, Pakistan; Banque Al Baraka D'Algerie, Algeria; Al Baraka Bank Sudan, Sudan; Al Baraka Bank Limited, South Africa; Al Baraka Bank Lebanon, Lebanon; Bank Et-Tamweel Al-Tunisi Al-Saudi, Tunisia; the Egyptian Saudi Finance Bank, Egypt; Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, Turkey; AlBaraka Bank Syria (under formation) and a representative office in Indonesia.

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Corporate Communications Department Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C Tel: +973-17-541122 – Ext: 227 Fax: +973-17-536533 Website: www.albaraka.com Email: [email protected] [email protected]