OREANDA-NEWS. January 04, 2010. At its recent 10th annual commercial banking “Bank of the Year” award ceremony, leading international financial journal The Banker named AsiaUniversalBank (AUB) the “Best Bank in the Kyrgyz Republic”. Kyrgyzstan’s top commercial bank was among 144 financial institutions from as many countries around the world to receive awards for distinguished performance in their local markets during one of the most challenging years ever for the banking industry.
Winners of the “Bank of the Year” awards were selected by a rigorous panel of judges based on the results of a detailed review of factors such as financial strength, innovation and strategy. According to The Banker, “Awards are given for the banks' performance over the 12-month period up to this year's deadline and not for their historical or dominant position in a market. This means that all banks – large and small – compete on a level playing field and have the potential to win.”
AsiaUniversalBank’s management considers the 2009 award to be a particularly meaningful accomplishment, given that a number of countries previously included in the competition did not make the final cut this year. According to sources at The Banker, “This being one of the toughest years ever in banking, it was not deemed appropriate to issue awards across all countries. In places where the entire system has been under stress, or where no bank made an overwhelming case for the award, no prize was given. Such countries include Belgium, the Baltic states, Iceland, Ireland and Nigeria.”

Speaking of the bank’s achievement, AUB’s Chief Executive Officer, Nurdin Abdrazakov, said: “While navigating the difficult global economic environment all banks have confronted in 2009, AUB also faced the additional challenge of managing a greatly expanded bank after the November 2008 merger with Kyrgyzpromstroybank. This effort included integrating different operational practices and systems into uniform business processes on a single, best-practices banking platform. It also meant ensuring all the bank’s branches and point-of-service outlets have been brought up to international standards. AUB has met these challenges successfully, while at the same time effectively managing our liquidity, maintaining the strength of our loan portfolio, and ensuring a high level of financial stability.”

In addition to representing significant international recognition of AsiaUniversalBank’s successful performance in a turbulent year for the global banking industry, AUB’s management believes the award for the “Best Bank in the Kyrgyz Republic” also validates the bank’s strategic priorities and its leadership in the areas of corporate governance and social responsibility. Earlier this year, AsiaUniversalBank established the AUB Foundation, a wholly-owned subsidiary aimed at actively contributing to the social and cultural welfare of the Kyrgyz people.