Oman's Bank Nizwa celebrates milestone year

Bank Nizwa, Oman’s first dedicated Islamic bank, told its shareholders at its recent annual general meeting that 2015 was a milestone year and the bank reached a break-even point in addition to growing its financing portfolio by 99 percent compared to the prior year.

Bank Nizwa Chairman Sayyid Amjad bin Mohammed Al Busaidi presented the financial performance for 2015 at the meeting, where shareholders approved and all financial statements, the corporate governance report, the director's report and the auditors' report.

Bank Nizwa's Shari'a Supervisory Board of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abdul Karim Abu Ghuddah, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Gharbi and Sheikh Ibrahim bin Nasser Al Sawwafi was re-established for another one year term. In another action, shareholders reviewed the Shari'a Supervisory Board's report to include all dealings and agreements performed by the bank during the year.

Shareholders also agreed on the bank’s new board of directors to be led by Chairman Al Busaidi and acting Vice Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Rawahi. Other member sof the board include Sheikh Muadh bin Salim Al Ghazali, Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalili, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Khalifa, Al Saadi, Sheikh Saif bin Hilal Al Mawali, Musabah bin Saif Al Mutairi and Hussain bin Yousif Al Shalwani 

“2015 was a momentous year for us as the Bank reached key milestones despite economic challenges,” Al Busaidi said. “During the year, Bank Nizwa 's income from jointly financed, investment and receivables increased by 82 percent while total assets grew by 37 percent. Both the retail banking and wholesale banking divisions delivered a strong performance in 2015 which helped boost operating revenue ... showing a growth of 58 percent from 2014.”

“We made good strides in scaling up our growth efforts in 2015 by revising our strategy to address the changing operating environment,” Al Busaidi said. “Moving forward, we will be guided by the 2020 business strategy. The strategy has been built on five key areas: to increase financial performance, to deliver excellent customer service experience, to drive core business with efficiency and technological advancement, to build a high performance working environment and to enhance Bank Nizwa's ability as a progressive organization. Our aim is to build on the achievements of 2015 and to continue delivering products and services that ensure the bank's long-term competitiveness and enhance value for our shareholders.”

Bank Nizwa has documented growth over the past three years as the company remained concentrated on customer care, innovation and service excellence. The bank was named the Strongest Islamic Retail Bank in Oman at the seventh Islamic Retail Banking Awards and the Best Islamic Bank in Oman at the sixth annual Islamic Finance Awards.