Invitation to the Award

The Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance and the Union of Arab Banks have great pleasure in inviting submissions for the Hawkamah - UAB 2008 Bank Corporate Governance Award.

The Award, now in its second year, was created by Hawkamah and UAB to recognize banks that have shown leadership in implementing good corporate governance practices. The 2007 Bank CG Award attracted close to 40 Banks from countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan, UAE and Yemen. This year, Hawkamah and the UAB are planning an even more aggressive agenda for the Award and hoping to solicit wider interest and coverage in the region.

Who is eligible?

The Award is open to all Arab Banks.

What are the criteria?

Hawkamah and the UAB have identified the following items as criteria for selection of the winner:

1. Commitment to good Corporate Governance
2. Structure of the Board
3. Control Environment and Processes
4. Transparency and Disclosure
5. Treatment of Minority Shareholders
6. External Monitoring Role

What is the entry submission process?

Applicants need to complete the entry form available on Hawkamah's and UAB's websites (www.hawkamah.org & www.uabonline.org) covering the following:

1. Bank Details
2. Application Report
3. The Bank's Annual Report
4. Accompanying support material *

Submission of applications starts on 01 July 2008 and ends on 31 October 2008.

* Applicants might be asked to provide additional information at a later date to aid the decision-making process.

What is the judging process?

The Award is decided by an assessment from a prominent jury of international bank experts based on the information provided and interviews with the finalists. The Hawkamah Institute and Union of Arab Banks will not participate in auditing the answers.
-The jury panel will shortlist the top 5 compliant banks in November 2008.
-The Award winner and the two runner-ups will be announced in December 2008 during a Special Award Ceremony (TBA).

Non-Disclosure & Confidentiality

Names of Banks and applicants, commentary and scoring information developed during the review of applications are regarded as proprietary by the Hawkamah Institute and Union of Arab Banks and are kept confidential. Such information is available only to those individuals directly involved in the assessment and administrative process consistent with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Data Protection Law (www.dp.difc.ae)..
The Hawkamah Institute and Union of Arab Banks will take all reasonable action to ensure that applications and information therein are treated in strict confidence. However, in no way can The Hawkamah Institute and Union of Arab Banks be held responsible for any loss of confidentiality to a third party.

Entry Form

Please click here to download the Entry Form.

Part II: Submission Checklist

Please submit the following by 31 October 2008:

1. Application report which covers the following:
1. Organizational profile, include organization chart
2. Write up on corporate governance measures your Bank has taken in addressing the following 6 criteria:
1. Commitment to good Corporate Governance
2. Structure of the Board
3. Control Environment and Processes
4. Transparency and Disclosure
5. Treatment of Minority Shareholders
6. External Monitoring Role


3. Bank's Annual Report

The Application report addressing the above criteria should be formatted as follows:
Typed on standard A4 size paper, text should be:
    -Single spaced
    -Minimum Font Size 10
    -No more than 1,500 words
    -2 copies


2. Please forward the completed application form and accompanying documents to:

          Miss Lara Arab
          Program Manager
          Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance
          Phone: +971 4 362 2557
          Fax: +971 4 362 2552
          Email: lara.arab@hawkamah.org
          please include Subject: Hawkamah - UAB 2008 Bank CG Award)