BankMuscat bags award

BankMuscat the largest bank in the sultanate, has received the Banker of the Year Award, instituted by The Banker, the business magazine of Financial Times, London. Abdulrazak Ali Issa, chief executive of BankMuscat, received the award at a glittering dinner reception held at the Dorchester Hotel, London, last week. The large representation of the global banking fraternity week. The large presentation of the global banking fraternity was present to witness what has become an important event in the banking calendar.
"The awards reflect the bank's performance, innovation, strategy and achievements and is given to the best bank to each country," said Simon Timewell, editor of the Banker, which is in 76th year of publication.
The citation for BankMuscat red: "The bank has emerged as the largest bank in the Sultanate of Oman following its merger with Commercial Bank of Oman, one of the few occasions in the Gulf region where the attempt at banking consolidation has reached a successful conclusion. The bank is now poised to take full advantage of its dominant position, with a large customer base and 35 per cent share of all loans and advances."
"BankMuscat has grown at a compounded annual rate of over 25 per cent in terms of assets and net profits over the last seven years. We will maintain our strong domestic position with the aid of significant technology upgrades, new software to speed up trade finance transactions, a 24-hour call center and branch expansion within the region," said Abdulrazak Ali Issa, after receiving the award.
BankMuscat was recently in the news over the take over of Al Ahlia Securities Company SAOG, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Onic Holding. When and if the deal goes through, it will be the first-ever takeover of a brokerage firm by a bank in the Sultanate, and will be a cheering development for restoring investor confidence.