ABU DHABI, 18th December, 2014 (WAM) -- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, ADIB, has been named "Best Bank in the UAE" at The Banker 2014 awards, in recognition of its financial performance, the growth of its assets and the expansion of its customer base to a mainstream market. The Banker awards are held annually in London and are presented at a gala dinner attended by CEOs and senior representatives of a myriad of international banks. 145 banks are celebrated as The Banker crowns the global Bank of the Year, and recognises regional winners from around the world. This is the first time ADIB has been recognised as best bank in both Islamic finance and conventional banking categories. The award also recognised the increase in ADIB’s customer base, which was enhanced by its acquisition of Barclays Bank’s UAE retail assets earlier in the year, as well as its leading position for customer service. The bank has also been named the "World’s Best Islamic Bank" for the second year running, at the Global Finance Magazine awards held in Washington, DC, based on its continuous growth in assets and revenues, as well as for successfully meeting its customers’ needs for innovative products and easy to access services. Through its awards, Global Finance Magazine provides benchmarks for successful financial institutions. The editors of the magazine undertake in depth consultations with bankers, corporate finance executives and analysts throughout the world in making their final decisions on the winners of these awards. The criteria for selection include growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and innovation in products. Subjective criteria include opinions of equity analysts, the banking consultants and the banking industry. Commenting on ADIB’s awards, Tirad Al-Mahmoud, CEO of ADIB said, "It is of course an honour to be named the "Best Bank in the UAE" by The Banker and the world’s "Best Islamic Retail Bank" by Global Finance Magazine. They underline the efforts and commitment of all of our people towards making us the best, and reflect the exceptional year we have had. But winning an award says something else to our customers and our staff. It means that we are being compared at a global level, and for a bank such as ADIB with global aspirations it gives us encouragement for the work we are doing and tells us that the standards we are meeting is up there with the very best, worldwide.