Al Masraf Bank wins prestigious ‘Straight Through Processing' STP Excellence Award' from ‘Commerzbank AG'

UAE, May 9, 2015 - Al Masraf Bank, one of the UAE’s premier banking institutions, has been named as the winner of this year’s Straight Through Processing (STP) Excellence. The award reflects the Bank’s consistently high SWIFT standards, which facilitate automated processing throughout the payment process, which is highly reflected in its recent achievement of 99.41 per cent STP rate in 2014.

The STP Excellence Award is regarded as a key standard of excellence in the international banking and finance arena as it aims to recognize the most efficient financial institutions from around the world that ably meet the rigorous criteria and guidelines for correspondent banking and international electronic payment transfers set by Commerzbank. Winners of the award are picked after they go through a lengthy evaluation and analysis from a judging committee composed of financial experts and analysts.

“We are truly humbled with this recognition, which is testament to the commitment that we have placed in providing our customers with world class financial services and products that address their needs and requirements,” said Faisal Galadari Chief Executive Officer Al Masraf Bank. “We would like to thank Commerzbank for this award—serving as an inspiration for us to remain steadfast in our vision to be an innovative and preferred financial partner for all banking services in the region.”

The bank's win follows after it reported excellent performance in 2014--posting increased net profits by 41 per cent and a 38 per cent growth in its net lending portfolio. Al Masraf's 2014 financial report shows that its net loans and advances have gone up from AED 5.3 billion to AED 7.3 billion, with customer deposits increasing from AED 6.23 billion to AED 8.73 billion. The overall assets growth is more than 13 per cent, which reflects an increase from AED 12.66 billion to AED 14.33 billion.