Double award success as Al Rayan Bank is named ‘Best Islamic Bank in the UK’ and ‘the UK’s Best Cash ISA provider

Al Rayan Bank (UK), the country’s largest* and oldest Islamic retail bank, has started the year by winning two prestigious awards. The Bank has been named as the 'Best Islamic Bank in the UK' at the 2017 Islamic Finance News Awards. This accolade follows it being named as the 'UK's Best Cash ISA Provider’ and being commended in the category of 'UK's Best Fixed Term Savings Provider' in the eighth annual Moneynet Personal Finance Awards.

Winners of the annual IFN Best Banks awards are determined by votes cast by readers, which include Islamic finance issuers, investors, non-banking financial intermediaries and government bodies. The awards recognise the best providers of Islamic financial services across a series of markets and sectors.

The Moneynet awards recognise personal finance providers that have gone the extra mile in the previous twelve months to deliver excellent deals for the consumer. The judging panel conducts reviews of finance products in the UK market to identify those that deliver the best returns and have the most innovative product features to ensure an all-round good deal for customers.

Commenting on the double success, Sultan Choudhury OBE, Al Rayan Bank Chief Executive Officer said, said: “We’re delighted to begin 2018 with these accolades. In an increasingly competitive environment, awards such as these are testament to the longevity and enduring appeal of the Bank, as well as its ability to succeed in a range of markets.

“The Moneynet award, together with others we have received in the recent past, help to cement our position as a credible alternative for UK savers who may be looking for a more ethical, responsible approach to Banking. The IFN award recognises and celebrates our position as the oldest and largest Islamic bank in the country, one that has striven to provide innovative, Sharia compliant products ever since the Bank was founded in 2004. Today, Al Rayan Bank is a UK success story: we’re one of the fastest growing banks in the UK, serving more than 80,000 customers – over a third of which we believe to be non-Muslim.”

This is the latest awards success enjoyed by Al Rayan Bank. In the past twelve months, the Bank has been named the ‘UK’s Best Fixed Term Savings Account Provider’ and highly commended in the ‘ISA Provider of the Year’ category by Moneyfacts. Furthermore, in recognition of his services to Islamic finance, Sultan Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer of Al Rayan Bank was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.

Al Rayan Bank has pioneered Islamic banking in the UK since it was founded in 2004. As an Islamic bank, it was founded on faith-based, ethical principles that derive from trade, entrepreneurship and risk-sharing, in which the customer and bank work together as partners towards a mutually profitable end. These principles prohibit the Bank from investing savers’ deposits in unethical activities such as gambling, pornography, speculation, tobacco, arms and other activities not in keeping with the values of Islam. As such, Al Rayan Bank can be found in the top ten of ethical current and savings account providers, according to ratings compiled by Ethical Consumer magazine.

Al Rayan Bank is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, and is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

A full list of winners can be found at http://www.moneynet.co.uk/moneynet-awards-2018/ and at https://www.islamicfinancenews.com/awards-polls (subscription required)

* Largest bank by assets, based on latest ‘published accounts as of May 2017

** In 2016, the Bank was named as the third fastest growing bank in the UK by pre-tax by profits, in a complete financial analysis of all 155 UK incorporated banks. Source: Bank League Tables 2017, a complete financial analysis of all 155 UK incorporated banks, Searchline Publishing 2017