Stewart Lockie receives the Retail Banker of the Year in the Middle East 2019 Award at the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards

Under Stewart's leadership as the General Manager for Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, the retail banking operating profit tripled, while cost-to-income was kept below 37%.  He maintained one of the highest customer satisfactions scores in the country, and lead initiatives which significantly impacted the retail banking transformation of the bank. Stewart has been instrumental in ushering in young local talents to create the bank's future leaders.

• Stewart Lockiehas a long and distinguished career in retail financial services
• Under his leadership, the bank has maintained an exceptional performance
• He has led a number of high impact initiatives to transform the retail franchise of the bank

Dubai, March 21st 2019- Stewart Lockie received the award for Retail Banker of the Year in the Middle East for 2019 at the prominent Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards. The Awards Ceremony and Dinner 2019 was held at the Conrad, Dubai. Over 200 senior bankers from 40 banks across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa gathered to recognise institutional best practices and outstanding achievements in the retail financial services industry.


Stewart Lockie,General Manager, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait during his acceptance speech at the Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2019.

Stewart Lockie has a long and distinguished career in retail financial services

Stewart has a long and distinguished career in retail financial services. He has performed every role in the retail Business, from back office operational duties, to branch, head office, regional, and country level roles. He has moved sideways and forward learning every facet of the retail business. His experience spreads across UK, North Africa and the Middle East providing him with valuable insights and cultural understanding to how a retail business should operate.

He has been a retail director/head for the past 18 years, initially in London, moving to Egypt and latterly to the Middle East. He has had accountability for the full retail profit and loss and delivery of the strategic objectives during this period. He has led the due diligence for two bank acquisitions, and has met/exceeded every budget set during these years in charge.

Under his leadership, the bank has maintained an exceptional performance

His achievements in the last nine years since assuming the role of group general manager of retail banking in 2010 are exceptional. During this period, Stewart tripled the retail bank's operating profit, reduced the cost-to-income ratio to below 37% and maintained one of the highest customer satisfactions scores in the country.  In addition, he continued to recruit and develop young local talents, so much so that they account for more than 75% of the bank's future leaders.

He has led a number of high impact initiatives to transform the retail franchise of the bank

His work has significantly impacted the retail banking transformation of the bank. This was achieved while implementing a new core banking system, which involved retraining all staff and ensuring that customer service levels did not drop. The bank has credited these tohis exceptional leadership amidst a tough period of change for the bank, while exceeding all budgetary objectives and keeping the team of 450 plus staff fully engaged and on track with what the business needed to do.

In the picture: Philippe Paillart, Varun Sabhlok ,Wilson Chia, David Gyori and Richard Hartung; Members of the Advisory Council of International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards Programme with Stewart Lockie, General Manager, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait. 

About Retail Banker of the Year Award

The Retail Banker of the Year award is the only individual award recognised under this programme and the only award of its kind in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions. Very few candidates will ever qualify for this prestigious career-recognising award. It honours the achievements of an outstanding leader in the retail banking industry who has contributed significantly to the transformation of his or her retail bank as well as making a strong impact on the country and on the whole industry. It also recognises significant achievements over the person's whole career, his/her inspirational thought leadership towards the bank and the entire industry, and his/her effort to invest in staff development.

About the International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards

The International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards is one of the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent awards programme for consumer financial services in the world. Covering all of the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and West Africa, the programme was instituted in 2001 to recognise the pursuit of excellence amongst retail financial institutions. It evaluates more than 300 banks and non-bank retail financial services players in more than 42 countries, via a rigorous audit-based approach.  Detailed evaluation criteria for each category may be found at http://awards.asianbankerforums.com/retailfinancial/criteria-country

You may visit the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards gallery at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TheAsianBanker/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157080239284804

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Mr. Alfred Labicassi
The Asian Banker
Email: alabicassi@theasianbanker.com