The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) was recently ranked amongst the 50 most secure banks in the world for the fifth year in a row by Global Finance magazine. According to the magazine's 2013 rankings, the bank was also ranked the safest and most secure in the Middle East. NBAD has been ranked amongst the top 50 in the world since 2009, the first ever in the Middle East to do so, placing 31st in 2013. Global Finance attributed the strength of the bank to its high credit rating within the international banking community. Michael H. Tomalin, Executive President of NBAD, recently said that “our bank's recent ranking reinforces our status as a safe haven in an insecure and unstable world". Banks selected for the list were chosen after their total assets and long term credit ratings were compared to those of 500 other international banks by the Fitch, Moody's, and Standard and Poor's rating agencies. NBAD recently obtained an A-/A+ rating for its short and long term credit ratings from Standard and Poor's, a P1/Aa3 ranking from Moody's, and an AA-+/F1 ranking from Fitch. The bank's total assets by the end of 2012 rose were recorded to have risen to 17.6%, totalling AED 300.6bn. Despite challenges faced throughout the Arab world, the bank has been successful in expanding its operations and opening up new branches, including in Malaysia, Shanghai in China. Abdallah Mohamed Saleh Abd Al-Rahman, senior vice president of the NBAD banking group, said: “Our bank has succeeded in strengthening its position amongst the world's top 50 banks due to its pursuance of sensible banking policies which have been reflected in its international performance. During the world financial crisis, the bank used its vast resources in order to aid its clients by making available to them a number of durable financial options."
