KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 11): CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd has been named the Islamic Retail Bank of the Year at the Banker’s Islamic Bank of the Year Awards 2023.

The awards recognise institutions with innovative retail products and services, impactful deals, and meaningful sustainability initiatives with shariah-compliant finance structures at their core.

Contributing to the recognition were CIMB Islamic’s takaful offerings for legacy planning, where family takaful products are embedded with hibah concept to provide certainty to beneficiaries, CIMB said in a statement.

It also noted its shariah-compliant wealth management solutions that allow access to a wide range of markets and payout structures, as well as exposure to asset classes that are otherwise not easily accessible by retail investors.

Further, sustainability commitment was a strong contributing factor to the award, it said, noting the only sustainability-linked account in the market, EcoSave Savings Account-i, which was introduced in 2008.

Through the account, the bank contributes 0.2% of the total EcoSave-i average portfolio balance per annum to environmental projects. Since its launch, CIMB Islamic has contributed approximately RM5.5 million towards 17 green initiatives across the nation as at December 2023.

“CIMB Islamic prioritises sustainability-focused initiatives to complement various customer offerings, in pursuit of creating sustainable value at all levels of the economic value chain, in line with the principles of value-based intermediation,” it added.

Meanwhile, CIMB Islamic said it was acknowledged for the next-generation mobile banking app with new personalisation features, as well as its auto financing app that allows quick and efficient approvals.

The bank touched on its Auto Dealer app, the first auto financing platform of its kind in Malaysia, enabling automotive loan/financing approval within one minute upon full submission of required documents.

“We are truly honoured to be recognised as the Islamic Retail Bank of the Year by The Banker, which is a testament to the team’s commitment to creating innovative shariah-compliant solutions, in tandem with growing market demand,” said CIMB Islamic chief executive officer Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff.

“We would like to thank our customers for choosing us as their trusted partner and provider of choice. We will continue to serve our customers and deliver value-adding and competitive products and services, aligned to the group’s Forward23+ strategic plan,” Ahmad Shahriman said.

This year, the Banker’s Islamic Bank of the Year Awards have taken a more granular approach, in an effort to celebrate innovation across individual shariah-compliant banking activities, while also recognising the best Islamic banks on regional and global levels.