(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- Bank Nizwa CEO, Khalid al Kayed, said the bank currently operates 13 branches and soon another one will be opened, thus taking total number of branches in the country to 14.
Speaking to reporters at a roundtable discussion organised by the Islamic lender at its head office, Bank Nizwa CEO, Khalid al Kayed highlighted the prospects for the growth of Islamic finance in Oman supported by the unique model adopted in the sultanate.
Kayed said Bank Nizwa currently operates 13 branches and soon another one will be opened, thus taking total number of branches in the country to 14. 'We are planning to open two new branches every year for the next couple of years to expand our reach within the sultanate,' he said.
Arif al Zaabi, AGM - retail at Bank Nizwa, said that the bank already has its presence in six regions out of total nine regions in the country, and going forward it will focus more on expanding operations in these untapped three regions.
'Besides increasing physical presence, the focus would also be on strengthening our position through digital banking,' Zaabi added.
Speaking about bank's performance, Kayed said, as the largest and fastest growing fully-fledged Islamic bank in Oman, Bank Nizwa is leading the sector's growth by diversifying its portfolio into a multitude of industries. The bank's investment portfolio is now divided 50-50 between retail and wholesale banking.
Bank Nizwa's total assets grew by 25 per cent to RO873mn at the end of 2018 compared to RO697mn a year ago, while its total customer deposit portfolio reached RO712mn, achieving an year-on-year growth of 35 per cent.
'We are hoping that our total assets would touch around RO1bn mark this year,' Kayed said, adding that they are very positive about the growth in 2019 and is likely to register double digit growth in all major activities.
He explained that the Islamic finance sector has a significant pool of liquidity in Oman. 'This constitutes an opportunity for businesses to achieve portfolio diversification. Getting more corporates and SMEs to utilise the banking solutions available in our sector would mark a new step for the industry to gain more popularity and market share.'
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