KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): Maybank Islamic Bhd clinched the award for The Islamic Bank of the Year, Asia Pacific and the Malaysian operations also won in the categories of Best Islamic Bank and Best Retail Bank, which marked the bank's seventh consecutive wins to date.

According to a statement by Maybank Islamic today, it said Maybank Group Islamic Banking (MGIB) has again received recognition with numerous awards at the recent Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2017.

Maybank Singapore was awarded The Islamic Bank of the Year and Best Retail Bank in Singapore, it added.

The Bank which structured its first Shariah-compliant hotel financing deal in Singapore last year also won the in the category for Best Islamic Deal, Singapore award, it said.

"The S$260 million Islamic financing deal in April last year was considered the first-of-its-kind to be done in Singapore as hospitality-related assets are not typically used in Islamic financing," it said, adding that it was also one of the biggest Islamic deals in the Republic.

It said Maybank Islamic also won in the categories of Best Local Currency Sukuk and Best Islamic Syndicated Financing.

Derived from key markets in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, MGIB's pre-tax profit rose 13.4% to RM1.95 billion while total income grew 12.9% to RM3.87 billion, and financing increased 15.7% to RM159.48 billion in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, it said.

"In the same ceremony, Maybank's other subsidiaries, namely Maybank Kim Eng and Maybank Investment also won 12 other awards in the best Sukuk and best Islamic deal segments, including the Sukuk House of the Year award for Maybank Kim Eng," it said.

Maybank Group Head, Islamic Banking and Maybank Islamic chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Rafique Merican attributed the wins to the strong internal collaboration and support from the rest of the teams at Maybank Group.

"With such solid teamwork, our Group Islamic banking business has grown significantly over the years.

"Getting a recognition like this will surely push us forward to further strengthen our resolve to stay ahead in the industry and we will continue to be committed in providing innovation solutions to our customers," he said.

At 3.16pm, shares in Malayan Banking Bhd fell 1 sen or 0.1% to RM9.61 for a market capitalisation of RM101.37 billion.