The “Bank of the Year” is the highest award a bank or financial institution can receive; in 2018, the award was revamped to further align the results with public and professional expectations, with the jury placing more emphasis on portraying the latest developments in the financial market. The purpose of the award is to recognize banksthat offer the best retail services and products. The award was presented by Fincentrum a.s. between 2002 and 2008. At that time it was called MasterCard Bank of the Year, and from 2009 to 2016 it was called Fincentrum Bank of the Year.
In 2017, BOY Awards a.s. took over the supervision of the Bank of the Year together with KPMG. However, Fincentrum a.s. still maintains cooperation with them.In 2018, a new category “Personality of Czechoslovak Money 1918 – 2018” was also presented in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The awards ceremony took place on November 20, 2018 at the Žofín Palace in Prague. A total of nine awards were given in each category. The awards were presented by CNB President Ily Rusnok. The jury consisted of 12 independent experts who are financial analysts, economic journalists, academics, and successful entrepreneurs.
The 2018 Bank of the Year was awarded to Česká spořitelna a.s. Komerční banka a.s. and Air Bank a.s. were next and third, respectively. Banker of the Year was awarded to Tomáš Salomón, CEO and Chairman of the Board at Česká Sporzitelna a.s. The Customer Bank of the Year award went to Equa bank a.s., followed in third place by Fio banka a.s. and Air Bank a.s. The best insurance company for 2018 was Kooperativa pojišt\’ovna a.s. of the Vienna Insurance Group, with Allianz pojišt\’ ovna a.s., and third place went to Generali pojišt\’ovna a.s.
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