Muscat - Meethaq, the Islamic banking window of bank muscat, on Sunday opened its first dedicated branch in Ghubra.
H E Sheikh AbdulMalik bin Abdullah al Khalili, Minister of Justice, was the guest of honour at the inauguration, which was also attended by several dignitaries including H E Hamood bin Sangour al Zadjali, executive president, Central Bank of Oman, Sheikh Khalid bin Mustahail al Mashani, chairman of bank muscat and AbdulRazak Ali Issa, CEO of the bank.
Meethaq offers Sharia-compliant products and services including savings accounts, current accounts, home finance, auto finance, and many other products.
Meethaq will have an independent Sharia Supervisory Board, separate capital, unique risk-management tools, fund segregation, separate books of account, core-banking system which supports Islamic banking operations, separate banking branches and proper profit-distribution mechanism among investment account holders.
"Meethaq plans to open branches in all major cities and towns across Oman in 2013. Meethaq will reach out to customers offering all the advantages of banking by following the principles of Sharia law. The main strategy is to attract customers through innovative and Sharia-based products and services," said Issa.
Though the bank has assigned RO150mn capital for its Islamic banking window operations, the final allocation will be determined by business opportunities in the market and the board has indicated that the assigned amount may increase if required.
© Muscat Daily 2013
