HSBC Bank Oman has outperformed its peers on various metrics despite its conservative approach

HSBC Bank Oman reported a 64.4 per cent increase in net profit to RO31.4mn for 2018, compared with RO19.1mn for 2017. Total revenue grew 14.1 per cent while operating expenses were 2.1 per cent higher. This has contributed to positive Jaws (growth in revenue over the increase in costs) of 12.0 per cent and a CER (cost efficiency ratio) of 57.5 per cent.

The bank’s performance in 2018 demonstrated the fundamental strength of its business. The strong capital and prudent risk appetite helped the bank to achieve positive growth in a difficult market environment.

In retail banking and wealth management (RBWM), the bank’s premier and advance propositions are aimed at mass affluent customers who value international connectivity and benefit from global reach and scale. For customers with simpler banking needs, RBWM offers a full range of products and services reflecting local requirements.

Digital transformation
HSBC made significant investment in digital transformation, reshaping the branch network and the sales force, and improving customer engagement, including the launch of Touch ID and Face Recognition for mobile banking on iPhone.  This new feature enables customers to easily login to their HSBC mobile banking app simply by using their Fingerprint or Face Recognition, which improves the security and convenience of its mobile app.

HSBC Bank Oman has adopted industry leading best practices, building on the HSBC Group’s global strategy and experiences. The bank has established a set of operating principles which govern how risks of a significant business disruption are mitigated to protect the bank’s customers, employees and stakeholders.

The bank has a robust and well defined business continuity programme which comprises policies and procedures with clearly defined roles, responsibilities and ownership for crisis management, emergency response, business recovery and IT disaster recovery planning to mitigate risks inherent with unforeseen business interruptions.