EMEA Finance Magazine, headquartered in London, has recently awarded Arab Bank “Middle East’s Best Corporate Social Responsibility program 2019”. The award was presented in recognition of the bank’s remarkable achievements and commitment to its sustainability strategy.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award recognizes a single bank in the region that demonstrates a sustainable and consistent CSR program, which provides a real and quantifiable impact on the community it operates in. Arab Bank was selected for this award based on a number of important factors, including: a clear strategic vision and achievable objectives for the CSR program, and the presence of external reference points in the development and execution of the program such as the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the most widely recognized guidelines for reporting.

Commenting on this prestigious award, Mr. Christopher Moore, CEO and publisher at EMEA Finance Magazine, said: “For the second time, we are recognizing Arab Bank's impressive work with our ‘Corporate Social Responsibility award’, which is one of our limited number of awards in the Middle East. Arab Bank has fully embraced its role supporting communities and there is no doubt that the bank understands how to run an impactful CSR program by having a dedicated team who oversee these activities on a full-time basis.” Moore added: “The debate about the role of financial institutions in society is less pronounced as we head into 2020, however, Arab Bank has and for many years already understood and acted positively to impact and change lives and create sustainable platforms.”

It is worth noting here that Arab Bank has been issuing its sustainability report annually since 2010 in accordance with the latest guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards, one of the most recognized standards for reporting worldwide, reflecting the highest levels of transparency and disclosure.

Arab Bank in collaboration with Tkiyet Um Ali, has started the distribution of winter blankets to underprivileged families in a number of the Kingdom's governorates as part of “Lamset Dafa” initiative conducted for the eighth consecutive year. Around 1,400 blankets are being distributed during the winter season to underprivileged families, supported by Tkiyet Um Ali’s programs in Amman, Al Zarqa’, Al Balqa’, Al Mafraq and Aqaba.

The initiative, carried out by Arab Bank employees and Tkiyet Um Ali’s staff, aims at alleviating the burdens of underprivileged families during winter.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Tareq Haj Hasan - Senior Vice President, Head of Branding at Arab Bank said: “We are proud to renew our collaboration with Tkiyet Um Ali for the 8th consecutive year. We value the humanitarian role it undertakes in combating poverty and providing a decent life standards to the underprivileged in our community.” Haj Hasan added: “Lamset Dafa” is part of our constant efforts to support initiatives aimed at supporting the development of the local community, particularly those that contribute to poverty alleviation and the well-being of the underprivileged families across the Kingdom.”

For his part, Director General at Tkiyet Um Ali, Mr. Samer Balkar expressed the organization’s pride in working with Arab Bank, one of the leading financial institution in the country that has a distinguished track record in community development. He stated: “Our cooperation with Arab Bank, throughout the past eight years, enabled us to spread joy among Tkiyet Um Ali’s underprivileged beneficiary families and to alleviate their burdens during the winter season. This reflects the bank’s belief in our vision to achieve a hunger-free Jordan.”

It is worth mentioning that Arab Bank’s social responsibility program “Together” has been supporting community initiatives since its launch, through which hundreds of the bank’s employees volunteered their time and effort. The program also allows customers to donate to several NGOs through Arab Bank’s electronic channels that include ATMs, internet banking as well as “Together” Platinum Credit Card.