Muscat. 14 January 2008: BankMuscat, the nation’s leading Bank, was recently awarded the Middle East e-Banking award for Oman at a glittering ceremony held at the Dusit Dubai Hotel, Dubai, UAE. Receiving the award on behalf of BankMuscat was Lawrence Monteiro, Chief Representative, Dubai Office, BankMuscat.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum was the chief guest of the ceremony and presented the trophies to recognize the outstanding achievements and accomplishments of the winners. The awards were presented for two categories: 'Middle East 2007 e-Banking Leader' and ‘Middle East e-Banking Country Awards’.

Speaking on this distinction, AbdulRazak Ali Issa, chief executive, BankMuscat said:

"The importance of technology and the role it plays in enhancing efficiency and increasing levels of convenience for our customers is increasing significantly as we go forward. At BankMuscat, we are committed to using technology to ensure that our customers are provided with the best levels of service available at the click of a button."

The awards for 2007 were based on the theme of e-Banking. The selection of winners was based on the following criteria: the breadth of product offerings, success in migrating existing customers to the web and acquiring and retaining new customers and use of the internet to improve business processes, cut costs and deliver other benefits.

Other winners of the Middle East e-Banking Country Awards included Dubai Islamic Bank (UAE), Qatar National Bank (Qatar), Al Rajhi Bank (Saudi Arabia), Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (Bahrain) and Arab Bank Group (Jordan). Emirates Bank (UAE) won the 'Middle East 2007 e-Banking Leader' Award.

Organised by the Middle East Excellence Awards Institute, the awards aim to recognise business, technology and service excellence amongst the region’s banking and financial service industry.