Alizz Islamic Bank (AIB), one of the first specialized Islamic banks in the Sultanate of Oman, held its third Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2015 on Tuesday, 29 March 2016, at Crowne Plaza Muscat. The Bank achieved all its strategic targets in terms of growth, cost and profitability. The meeting headed by HH Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said, Chairman of the bank, was attended by board members, senior management of the bank and shareholders. The AGM was also attended by the Shari’a Supervisory Board, in the presence of its Chairman Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Abdul Rahim Sultan al Olama.
During the third annual meeting, the shareholders elected a new board of directors for a further three-year period. The new board includes HH Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said, Mr. Shabib bin Mohammed Al Darmaki, Mr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khonji, Mr. Mohammed Shukri Ghanem, Mr. Saleh bin Nasser Al Araimi, Mr. Mohammed Rashid Al Suwaidi, and Mr. Obaid bin Hilal Al Kaabi.
Following the AGM, the new Board of Directors held a meeting where HH Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad Al Said was selected Chairman of the board and Mr. Mohammed Shukri Ghanem as Vice Chairman. In addition, Mr. Fadelallah Suleiman was appointed Company Secretary, in accordance with the Code of Corporate Governance issued in July 2015.
During the meeting, the board of directors presented the financial performance report for year ending 31 December 2015, which was reviewed and approved. Shareholders also approved the corporate governance report, the auditor’s report, the balance sheet and the profit and loss accounts of the same fiscal year.
In his speech to shareholders, HH Sayyid Taimur discussed the Bank’s gross financing receivables crossing OMR 200 million to reach OMR 201.9 million registering a growth of 185% from end of 2014 while customer deposits increased to OMR 161.4 million from OMR 15.3 million at the end of 2014. Such phenomenal growth has resulted in an increase in net operating income by 210% to reach OMR 5.99 million for the year 2015 from OMR 1.93 million for the year 2014.
On the Governance front, Alizz Islamic Bank was recognized and awarded the only Omani bank on the basis of financial disclosure score by the Middle East Global Advisors. The financial disclosure rating measures the extent to which customers and stakeholders are protected through disclosure of ownership and financial information. HH Sayyid Taimur discussed the values entrusted in the Bank by the shareholders as well as their complete belief in the importance of corporate transparency.
In addition, the shareholders were informed of the Shari’a Supervisory Board report and of the related parties’ transactions during year ending 31 December 2015. The transactions which the bank will carry out with related parties for fiscal year 2016 were also reviewed and approved.
Honorable Salaam Said Al Shaksy, CEO of Alizz Islamic Bank , said, “Despite the highly competitive market, AIB remains at the forefront of the sector, and the bank received a number of prestigious awards in recognition of its achievements across the banking industry including the “Best Customer Service in Oman 2015” from the Banker Middle East.” He added: “The Bank was assigned a long term credit rating of omBBB- (Investment grade) on a National Scale by Capital Intelligence. Alizz Islamic Bank is the first Islamic bank in the Sultanate to be rated by an international agency, achieving a strong investment grade rating. This demonstrates the Bank’s competence as well as commitment and support from the Bank’s shareholders. “.