MUSCAT – BankMuscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman, has set a record, winning five prestigious awards, including the Best Bank in Oman award, from Global Finance magazine.

AbdulRazak Ali Issa, Chief Executive, received the awards at a special ceremony held recently on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Istanbul, Turkey.

BankMuscat won the Best Bank in Oman, Best Investment Bank, Best Trade Finance Provider, Best Foreign Exchange Provider and Best Sub-Custodian awards for 2009 from Global Finance. Global Finance editors with inputs from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants selected the best banks in the region, based on growth in assets, profitability, strategic relationships, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products.

Commenting on the Bank’s achievement, AbdulRazak Ali Issa said: “Being the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate, BankMuscat has put in place robust policies and procedures to achieve global best practices. The Bank is focused on strategic initiatives to confront challenges and further increase its market share. The Bank prides itself in its deep understanding of customer needs, sharing its expertise in offering financial guidance at all levels. BankMuscat remains committed to excellence in providing innovative banking solutions to all, inspired by the challenges that lie ahead and looking forward to growing together with the nation as one family.”

A multi-award winning organisation, BankMuscat holds the rare distinction of being voted the ‘Best Bank in Oman’ for seven years by The Banker, FT London, and eight times in a row by Euromoney. BankMuscat recently won the prestigious Hewitt recognition as the Middle East’s Best Employer 2009.

The top-notch awards were in recognition of the best overall performance in terms of qualitative achievements and strategic initiatives. 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 all-round excellence in performance.

Over the years, the prominent accolades won by the Bank include the ‘Quality Recognition Award’ from JPMorgan Chase Bank; ‘Best Bank in Oman’ and the ‘Best Place to Work in Oman’ awards in surveys conducted by leading international and regional business magazines. The Bank is a certified Investor in People (IiP) organisation, the first banking organisation in MENA region to be awarded the prestigious global recognition. In 2004, BankMuscat became the first bank in the Middle East to be completely ISO 9000:2000 certified.

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 satisfied customers by 2010.