Muscat: BankMuscat, the leading financial institution in the Sultanate, started the year with a thumping endorsement of its performance, winning the Best Foreign Exchange Bank in Oman award for 2009 from Global Finance magazine. The prestigious award was granted to the Bank for the sixth consecutive year.

"The global foreign exchange market has continued to thrive throughout the financial crisis. Average daily turnover has surpassed $3 trillion in the world’s biggest market. We have identified the banks that large global companies can rely on for their FX needs," Joseph D Giarraputo, publisher and president of Global Finance, said Global Finance editors with inputs from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts selected the best currency trading providers and online foreign exchange systems in 82 countries or regions. Criteria for choosing the traditional and online winners included transaction volume, market share, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative technologies.

A multi-award winning organisation, BankMuscat’s performance has been lauded by the international financial and banking community for several years, including the unique achievement of being voted the Bank of Year – Oman by The Banker (FT, London) magazine and the Best Bank in Oman for the eighth time in a row by Euromoney and Global Finance in 2008. The top-notch awards were in recognition of the best overall performance over the course of the previous year in terms of qualitative achievements and strategic initiatives.

BankMuscat also received the highly coveted Quality Recognition Award from JPMorgan Chase Bank for the eighth time in recognition of its outstanding high-quality performance and long-term commitment to quality in the area of fund transfer.

On the domestic front, the Bank led the Best Brands in Oman survey by BusinessToday magazine, winning the Top Brand accolade in the banking segment and the No. 2 position among the overall Top 10 Brands in Oman.

The awards speak volumes on the unrivalled position enjoyed by BankMuscat in the Sultanate. Consistently winning prestigious global awards has helped the Bank to further raise the bar on performance and adopt new initiatives to stretch operational standards that reflect its excellence in performance.

A keen perception of customer requirements has enabled BankMuscat to develop products and services in line with the current and emerging needs. Committed to serving the community and making a substantial difference to the nation, BankMuscat remains focused on its mission of attracting one million customers by 2010.