Al-Marri with Makkawi (right) giving details of Qatar First Bank’s new branding and exclusive private banking lounge at a press conference yesterday. PICTURE: Thajuddin  

Qatar First Bank (QFB), the first independent Shariah-compliant financial institution regulated by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), has launched its exclusive Private Banking Lounge and unveiled its new brand and future strategic direction.
Established in 2009 as a boutique investment bank, QFB has since then evolved and implemented a new business strategy. Capitalising on the growing demand for Shariah-compliant banking and catering to the growing wealth market in the region, QFB now combines the “best of a private bank with bespoke investment solutions to manage, grow and diversify wealth.”
QFB’s “new brand encapsulates” the bank’s commitment to deliver excellence. The new logo is based around the Arabic word for “First”, which underlines QFB’s status as the region’s first “truly Shariah-compliant” private bank.
QFB said it was focused on “nurturing sustainable partnerships based on confidence, trust and discretion.” As a trusted financial advisor, QFB puts the clients’ best interests first, delivering innovative, personal and original financial solutions to help them manage their private wealth, it said.
QFB’s Private Banking Lounge is a testament to the bank’s commitment to assuring its clients that they will enjoy private banking services in a unique environment that evokes trust, professionalism, privacy and exclusivity. Located on the Suhaim bin Hamad Street at Al Sadd, QFB’s Private Banking Lounge serves as an icon in enhancing the bank’s image amongst its stakeholders.
QFB will offer private, corporate and institutional clients with private banking services complemented by corporate and alternative investment offerings. Together, this comprehensive portfolio of services will enable QFB to present its clients with unique and exciting opportunities to grow their wealth, finance their businesses and participate in lucrative investment propositions identified through the bank’s extensive market intelligence and professional network.
QFB chairman, Abdullah bin Fahad bin Ghorab al-Marri, said: “I look at QFB’s achievements with pride. In spite of the economic and political turmoil in the region, we have managed to maintain a sound financial position since our inception. Today we build on our success as we launch a new dimension in Shariah-compliant private banking. A private bank that will uphold the highest levels of integrity and capitalise on the growing demand for Islamic finance to offer Qatar’s private clients with world class financial solutions to preserve and grow their wealth in a unique and exclusive environment. We have and will always remain committed to deliver excellence to our clients in all aspects of business,”
Islamic finance, which has proven its resilience against economic headwinds, is on a constant growth path. According to a recent report by Standard & Poor’s, Islamic finance assets worldwide currently exceed $2tn, following a decade of 10%-15% growth on average. Current projections indicate that this will grow to $3tn by 2019.
Ziad Makkawi, QFB chief executive officer, said, “QFB is evolving its business model from merely focusing on maximising returns for its own portfolio to a more outward client focused institution making its expertise and deep knowledge in the financial markets available to private, corporate and institutional clients. We will continue on building on our strong track record in the alternative investment space and open these opportunities to our clients to support the growth and diversification of their wealth.”
He described the banking environment in the Gulf as “challenging” and said that investors were behaving cautiously at a time of low oil prices and a liquidity crunch.
“The investment climate is not going to be as hot or as bullish as when oil prices were at 100 dollars a barrel. People are looking for a bit more certainty and are staying away from speculative kinds of investments,” he said.