Rashad Al Musafir, CEO of Oman Arab Bank is confident that the bank’s stress on innovative thinking and progressive ideas will help it realise its vision

How was Oman Arab Bank’s financial performance in FY2018?

Oman Arab Bank (OAB) had an immensely successful 2018 achieving two important milestones. Our strong performance resulted in the bank’s total income increasing by nearly 13 per cent to RO87.6mn, while costs increased by only 3.4 per cent. This led to a milestone consolidated net profit after the tax, north of RO30mn.

While the bank’s consolidated net profit after tax was reported at RO30.1mn increasing by 13.5 per cent year-on-year, net interest income increased by 19.6 per cent to a sound RO66.5mn. Our balance sheet reflected the growth in our underlying core franchise as loans and advances also increased by 10.8 per cent to reach RO1.8bn and core-underlying funding from customer deposits grew by 7.1 per cent to RO1.9bn. Overall, the bank’s total assets grew by nearly 9 per cent reaching RO2.3bn by the end of 2018.

These impressive results allowed the bank to maintain a capital adequacy ratio at a healthy 16.5 per cent, which is above the regulatory requirement of 13.875 per cent.

What were the major milestones during the year? Can you talk about the measures to enhance retailing, ATM and CDM networks of the bank?

In 2018, we continued with our branch transformation initiative and included branches being refreshed with the bank’s new brand image and look. These branches also provide a more efficient customer queuing system, offer new and updated services and ensure additional streamlined operations to enhance customer experience. Last year saw the transformation of three branches, two of which have been elevated as ‘flagship’ branches thanks to their larger facilities and dedicated Elite section.

Other initiatives comprise of various updates and enhancements to our mobile banking application and internet banking. We also launched new facilities, one of which was the recent addition of ‘Tap and Go’ facilities at ATMs and point of sale (POS) machines. This is also accompanied by our automated OAB Rewards redemption services on POS machines.

What are the measures that have been taken to support SMEs?

Given the importance of the SME sector to economic diversification and social stability and the role it plays in the development of the private sector development, we continue to offer them as much support as possible; be it with innovative tailor-made financial products with all processes being completed in a timely manner, offering them consultancy and guidance services or by tying up with various other entities that are supporting SMEs to help boost their services.

Furthermore, we are also working towards building an even closer relationship with our SME clients. We meet with them regularly to get a better understanding of their business needs and requirements to assist or offer them advice on any difficulties they may face. As part of the discussion, we welcome feedback from them on our services and products to ensure continued improvement to the customer experience that is a critical element in partnering SME businesses. We also continue to look out for new opportunities for collaboration and partnerships as well as develop synergies with companies under our support umbrella so that we can further boost the growth and development of SMEs in the country.

How was the performance of the bank’s Islamic banking window during 2018?

Al Yusr’s performance was the other major milestone for the bank as it achieved a net profit after taxation of RO1.1mn. That said, Islamic banking is a very promising sector for us with great opportunities for growth and we expect this momentum to carry Al Yusr to even greater success in 2019.

What were the major HR initiatives taken by the bank?

At OAB, we value our staff highly and we strongly believe in building a vivid and lively workplace, especially one that promotes innovation and allows employees to energise and motivate each other in a collaborative manner. This ensures that a multi-faceted functional approach is undertaken to stretch for more ambitious targets. In fact, we have actively taken the responsibility of creating various talent management initiatives and training programmes that are designed to encourage this ideology.

A significant example of just such an initiative is our well-known LEAD programme, which has seen the successful completion of its second cohort – ‘LEAD 2’, in 2017. We have also launched ‘LEAD 3’ recently for 20 more of our high potential employees to take advantage and to further their careers by taking on greater responsibilities within the bank.

Furthermore, we also have the Mutamayizoon award that highlights outstanding performance, the ‘Insights’ workshops to promote a culture of ongoing learning, a comprehensive training and development calendar, and other internal initiatives. All of these programmes help create a platform for our staff to engage and continue in developing their careers.

What are the future plans to enhance operational efficiency and technological deployment?

Our digital channels have continued to enjoy huge acclaim and praise from our clients throughout the year. This has motivated us to continue to modernise and add new features and facilities to the platform across all touchpoints, thereby continuing to create an all-round Omni channel experience.

The most notable of these new features include the recent addition of the ‘Tap and Go’ facilities at ATMs and Point of Sale (POS) machines, alongside automated OAB Rewards redemptions on POS machines.

Our unique digital platform and the significant advancements we have made over the past year has further reinforced our position as a pioneer with regard to digital banking in the local market. Building on this momentum, we have several launches in the pipeline, ensuring that OAB remains at the forefront of digitalisation. The upcoming developments will also create a new retail paradigm that enhances the customer experience and one that even meets the demands of our most discerning clients, especially those looking for unique and integrated services delivered across all digital channels.

What are the bank’s priority areas and outlook for 2019?

Looking ahead, the bank has a renewed focus towards innovation and has already set the barrier high with its ‘24-Hour Innovation Hub’ weekend. We will continue to accelerate our innovation journey through the minds of clients, staff and the community to drive innovative thinking and progressive ideas from concept to reality.

We look forward to 2019 as another eventful year as we continue to reaffirm our position as a leading Omani banking institution, one that elevates customer banking experiences across all touchpoints and platforms.