Kurdish banker wins regional award for second time
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish banker on Thursday won a prestigious award in Dubai for the second year in a row.
Hamila Gardi, CEO of Erbil-based Regional Trade Bank (RT Bank), received the Fakhr Al Arab award in Dubai last year for her work in improving economic conditions and quality of life of her community.
She received the same award on Thursday.
“This award is not only important for our bank work but also for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” she told Rudaw’s Omer Moradi after receiving the accolade.
Fakhr Al Arab “is a specialized award to honor the Arab personalities and the Arab origins who constituted a turning point in the course of life and were most influential in economics and sociology,” according to its website.
Gardi said the award she received in 2020 helped her bank in many aspects.
“This is a great award and we really benefited from it in 2021 after I received it in 2020. It paved the way for the opening of roads to international connections and it expanded our business. It was very great to be asked to open the branches of my bank in Gulf countries,” she said.
RT Bank started operations in July 2001 as a locally-owned, independent bank primarily servicing the Kurdistan Region.
In her position, Gardi oversaw the issuance of business loans that helped stimulated the private sector in the Kurdistan Region. In 2019, she told Rudaw the bank was looking to do more to help developing businesses.
Hamila Gardi, CEO of Erbil-based Regional Trade Bank (RT Bank), received the Fakhr Al Arab award in Dubai last year for her work in improving economic conditions and quality of life of her community.
She received the same award on Thursday.
“This award is not only important for our bank work but also for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” she told Rudaw’s Omer Moradi after receiving the accolade.
Fakhr Al Arab “is a specialized award to honor the Arab personalities and the Arab origins who constituted a turning point in the course of life and were most influential in economics and sociology,” according to its website.
Gardi said the award she received in 2020 helped her bank in many aspects.
“This is a great award and we really benefited from it in 2021 after I received it in 2020. It paved the way for the opening of roads to international connections and it expanded our business. It was very great to be asked to open the branches of my bank in Gulf countries,” she said.
RT Bank started operations in July 2001 as a locally-owned, independent bank primarily servicing the Kurdistan Region.
In her position, Gardi oversaw the issuance of business loans that helped stimulated the private sector in the Kurdistan Region. In 2019, she told Rudaw the bank was looking to do more to help developing businesses.