Heralding a new milestone, Bank Nizwa celebrated three years of growth and innovation in Oman’s burgeoning Islamic finance industry. This latest achievement comes only months after the Bank reached its operational break-even point between revenue and expenses, reporting a total revenue growth of 11% in the last quarter of 2015.
A special team building event was held to commemorate the Bank turning three, where Bank Nizwa employees and senior management celebrated the achievement, reflecting on past learnings, while looking forward for an even brighter future. During the ceremony, Dr. Jamil El Jaroudi, the Bank’s CEO said, “We are committed to lead from the front and continue nurturing the development of Islamic finance in the Sultanate. From the onset, we aspired to provide people with an alternative to conventional banking and empower them with Shari’a complaint products and services that would allow them to lead financially secure lives. Three years to the day, we are proud to see that our vision has become a reality thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team and trust our customers have given us.”
Since opening its doors as Oman’s first Islamic bank in 2013, Bank Nizwa has cemented its position as the country’s leading Islamic banking partner of choice, contributing to the growth and development of core industries including real estate and energy. Poised for success, the Bank’s total assets stood at 347 Million in December 2015. The bank now is serving around 52 thousand retail and corporate accounts, while total financing and deposit reached 273 Million and 189 Million respectively showing 100% growth over the previous year of 2014. After starting with only three branches, the Bank today boasts a retail network that spans the length and breadth of the Sultanate with 11 fully fledged branches. This success has been underpinned by Bank Nizwa’s unceasing efforts to raise awareness on Islamic Banking through its pioneering educational platform entitled, the ‘Islamic Finance Knowledge Series’.
Over the years, the Bank has also focused on developing the Islamic banking leaders of tomorrow, conducting more than 700 training programs in 2015 alone to help fulfil the career aspirations of its team. In fact, its investment in human capital has been lauded by industry stakeholders, earning it the ‘Best Employee Retention & Motivation Program’ award at the annual Middle East Call Centre Awards.
In addition, Bank Nizwa received critical acclaim for its remarkable role in growing Islamic finance in Oman. The Bank was named the ‘Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in Oman’ at the 7th Islamic Retail Banking Awards, ‘Best Online Banking for an Islamic Bank’ from the World Union of Arab Bankers, as well as the title of ‘Best Islamic Bank in Oman’ at the 6th annual Islamic Finance Awards.