Middle East’s best sukuk house 2026: HSBC
HSBC is the Middle East’s best sukuk house, recognised for its leadership across volume, innovation and execution, and its ability to deliver complex, Shariah-compliant solutions that continue to deepen and expand the region’s sukuk market.
2025 marked a record year for sukuk, with issuance exceeding $150 billion globally, driven by strong sovereign funding requirements across the Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia, and the increasing use of sukuk as a core financing tool across the region. Within this environment, HSBC distinguished itself through scale and consistency of activity in the Middle East. The bank ranked among the leading institutions in MENAT sukuk league tables, executing approximately $50 billion of regional transactions and playing a central role across the majority of benchmark sovereign and sovereign-linked deals.
HSBC’s leadership in the region is driven by a strategy that combines execution at scale with a focus on market development. The bank has maintained a leading role across major sovereign issuers, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as key institutions such as PIF, Aramco and Mubadala. At the same time, it has brought new issuers to the market, supporting debut transactions for corporates and financial institutions, and broadening the issuer base across the Gulf and wider region.
A defining strength of HSBC’s regional franchise is its expertise in Shariah-compliant structuring under evolving Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards. This was most clearly demonstrated in its work on Saudi Arabia’s first fully AAOIFI-compliant sukuk programme, which required the development of a new structure capable of meeting regulatory requirements across jurisdictions while remaining accessible to a diverse Islamic investor base. HSBC led extensive coordination with regional Islamic banks and market participants, enabling the Kingdom to unlock deeper pools of liquidity.
Our unparallel on-ground presence in the Middle East saw HSBC introduce new markets, issuers, currencies and structures in what was the busiest year for sukuks on record
Ali Taufeeq
The resulting $5.5 billion dual-tranche sukuk was one of the most significant transactions of the year. It was more than three times oversubscribed and achieved the tightest pricing levels in Saudi Arabia’s history, while also attracting broad participation from investors across the Middle East and beyond. The deal highlighted HSBC’s ability to combine structuring innovation with strong execution in a complex and evolving regulatory environment.
Execution has been a key differentiator. In response to volatile conditions, HSBC has advised leading regional issuers on intraday execution strategies, enabling transactions to be launched and priced within a single day. This approach has been successfully adopted by prominent sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuers, resulting in more efficient outcomes and enhanced pricing performance.
HSBC has also played a critical role in strengthening connectivity between the Middle East and international investor bases. By expanding the Asia–Middle East corridor and increasing participation from Asian investors, the bank has supported greater diversification of demand while reinforcing the Middle East’s position at the centre of the global sukuk market.
Crucially, HSBC acts as a long-term adviser to the region’s key issuers, working across programme development, structuring and repeat market access. This has resulted in enduring relationships with sovereigns, sovereign wealth funds and leading corporates, reflected in a high level of repeat quality mandates.
Ali Taufeeq, head of sukuk financing, says: “Our unparallel on-ground presence in the Middle East saw HSBC introduce new markets, issuers, currencies and structures in what was the busiest year for sukuks on record. This award is a credit to the team and the trust of our clients, for whom we executed over 40 sukuk market transactions during the year, including as the only international bank placing SAR sukuk issuances.”
HSBC’s performance reflects a sukuk franchise defined by scale, innovation and deep regional expertise. Its ability to lead the Middle East’s most complex and high-profile transactions while continuing to broaden the market puts it at the head of the field, making it the clear choice for Euromoney as the Middle East’s best sukuk house.
