Emirates-Citibank Credit Card: Credit Card of the Year Award

"We are delighted to receive this award as a reflection of the high confidence and trust that our customers place on us, and also this is an endorsement of the recognition by our customers of our ongoing efforts to continue to add value to our products and services," said Rajeev Kakar, Regional Head for Citibank's Consumer Bank in Turkey, Middle East & Africa, who is based in the UAE. "Our Co-branded credit card is unique in the market-place and together with Emirates, our valued partner, we assure our customers of our best services and continued value enhancements going forward as well."

Brian Labelle, Vice President, Skywards, said: "Skywards, the award winning Frequent Flyer Program of Emirates, is proud to be partner with Citibank in the Emirates/Citibank co-branded credit card. To be selected as "Credit card of the year" is an achievement to be proud of and we believe that the card presents excellent benefits to our members. Skywards is excited to be part of this relationship."

The GCC Banking Awards 2004 recognised those institutions leading the industry forward through a unique evaluation and nomination approach. An expert panel of nominating judges spanning ratings agencies, consultancies, card schemes, solution providers and banks were asked to provide nominations in each of the awards categories. Their responses were collated, and then Banker Middle East's editorial team derived a shortlist of three nominated banks for each award.

The short listed banks were then put to a public vote through www.bankerme.com and www.menafn.com. While the voting took place, Banker Middle East also sourced supplementary information from the nominated banks themselves to assist in the final judgement stages. A total of 18 awards were distributed to winning banks falling in different banking categories at local and regional levels.

With the Banker ME Award, the Emirates Credit Card has added another trophy to its impressive record. In May 2003, the card won the "Best Affinity Charge/Credit card Program" (International) Award, part of the prestigious Freddie Awards. The readers of "Inside Flyer" magazine placed the Emirates-Citibank card at the top slot in the International category for Best Affinity Credit Card program.

Citibank's consumer offer provides tailor-made banking solutions to a diverse clientele. Keeping apace with the fast developing UAE market, Citibank has introduced a broad spectrum of innovative personal banking products including credit cards, consumer loans, Citigold priority banking and investment services, in addition to tailored private banking products.

Today, the bank dominates UAE's credit card market and is currently a leading provider of consumer credit services including personal and auto loans. The personal banking offer is backed by the sophisticated CitiPhone Banking service, a virtual branch meeting all banking needs over the telephone.