Bank Nizwa has registered yet another milestone in its journey to make Islamic finance mainstream across Oman, after being named ‘Financial Institute of the Year’ during this year’s edition of the coveted MEED Awards.

Affirming its growing reputation as the Islamic financial institution of choice in Oman and growing that reputation regionally and internationally, the bank’s team including Vice Chairman, Musabah Saif Musabah Al Mutairy and Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al Kayed received the award. 

Islamic banking in the Sultanate reached a phenomenal 13.6% as of end of July 2019 as per the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) of the total assets of the banking sector in the Sultanate. Bank Nizwa has recorded the highest growth rate in Oman’s banking history with OMR 7.5 million in net profit (representing a 98% growth after tax for the period ending 31 December 2018).

Musabah Al Mutairy, Vice Chairman of Bank Nizwa, said “Putting customers first and offering tailored Shari’a-compliant services that meet their evolving banking requirements are the two main objectives for us at Bank Nizwa. The prestigious MEED Awards recognize our relentless efforts to showcase the wealth of benefits associated with using Islamic finance by customers whether retail or corporate.”

Renowned for its Shari’a-compliant products and services, Bank Nizwa win came after a rigorous evaluation process conducted by a panel of independent experts. Safety levels, transparency and reliability of retail business transactions were also key factors considered in the evaluations.

During 2019, Bank Nizwa’s financial results have been consistent with its performance with regards to attracting more and more people to use Islamic banking and appreciate the benefits associated with this ever-growing industry in Oman.

Demonstrating strong resilience and performance across all its departments, the bank’s latest financial results for the period ending 30 September 2019 saw total assets grow by 18% to reach OMR 967 million compared to OMR 820 million last year, while its total customer deposit portfolio reached OMR 762 million achieving a growth of 15% year-on-year.