National Bank of Oman today announced that it was named Best Trade Finance Bank in the Sultanate of Oman 2015 during the Third Annual Middle East and Africa Awards Ceremony. The ceremony was held at the Park Hyatt, Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi on October 6th 2015.
In 2015, National Bank of Oman transaction banking business experienced growth in both cash management and trade finance, with 19% growth in revenue and over a 30% increase in the fee income. The Bank’s efficient turnaround time for delivery of trade services is one of the quickest in the local marketplace enabling the Bank to actively grow its customer base.
National Bank of Oman’s channel platform and the internet banking has improved rapidly; the Bank has engaged large corporate clients to provide them with online trade solution where they will be able to conduct multiple trade related transactions with extensive reporting features as well as notifications.
As excess liquidity remains in the Omani marketplace resulting in lower lending rates for corporates, National Bank of Oman evolves its product offering to accommodate the growth in the corporate space. Open platform, host-2-host solutions have now become sought after for customized solutions in Oman for government entities and large companies to leverage on these enhanced platforms. The Bank is looking at other value add features for 2016.
Commenting on the awards, Sayyid Wasfi bin Jamshid Al Said, DGM – Deputy Head of wholesale Banking Group at National Bank of Oman said, “Transaction banking at National Bank of Oman is clearly distinguishing itself in the market as the service provider of choice. We have been able to achieve unrivalled levels of trust with our clients by taking time to understand their specific needs and issues, identifying gaps in addressing them and then offering tailored solutions that are cost effective and enable higher levels of operational efficiencies capable of providing competitive advantages for large corporations in the Sultanate.
We are at the forefront of designing highly relevant products and services for the business community supported by heavy technology investments and outstanding people and we are delighted to receive such prestigious recognitions.”
The Asian Banker Transaction Banking Awards is the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent annual awards program recognizing leadership in the cash management, trade finance and payments industries among international financial institutions in Asia Pacific and in the last two years has grown to include the Middle East & Africa.
The Transaction Banking Awards evaluate bank’s achievements in cash management, payments, and trade finance. The winners for these awards are determined through a combination of surveys, interviews and field research by The Asian Banker’s research staff.
A stringent three-month evaluation process based on a balanced and transparent scorecard was used to determine the winners.