Muscat - The growth of Islamic banking in Oman has been commendable in a short of span of three years despite some teething problem, according to Hamood bin Sangour al Zadjali, Executive President, Central Bank of Oman (CBO). He added that Islamic banking has reached RO 2,254 million in gross assets with a market share of 7.45 per cent as of December 2015. Gross finance touched RO 1,781 million, with a market share of around 8.86 per cent. He said there two full-fledged Islamic banks and six Islamic windows along with 60 branches that are operational. Eight more branches are in the process of being established.
"Oman, being a late entrant, is immensely benefited by experience elsewhere. Our approach have been adopting of accounting standards of AAOIFI and guidance by IFSB standards at the beginning itself. Basel norms and other accredited inputs for robust functioning of banks and effective supervision are of guidance to the extent they are not incompatible with Islamic banking." He added that "Sharia Supervisory Boards in Islamic Banks/Windows support in terms of internal Sharia review with audit and control wings, internal Sharia audit and independent external Sharia audit and segregation of windows from banks."
Al Zadjali said CBO has been receiving representations from Islamic banking entities and they are being looked into with the objective of removing obstacles without sacrificing the need to dilute rigours of Islamic finance and prudence. He added that Islamic banking entities have been forced to penetrate into finance business, deemed to be difficult initially. He also highlighted the role of Sukuk and large scale Islamic financing to enable private sector to play a larger role in economic diversification. Al Zadjali said speaking at the inaugural 'Islamic Finance News Oman Seminar & Dialogue 2016'.
The seminar focused on Oman's changing financial landscape and its outlook within five years and how best to maintain the growth of corporate and retail banking. Dr Jamil el Jaroudi, CEO, Bank Nizwa, said, "Despite being a relatively young industry, Islamic banking has grown by leaps and bounds, gaining momentum on the back of continuous innovation, outreach programmes, expansive services and exceptional customer service. As such, this seminar provided market players and regulators with an opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices, as well as identify prospects for growth and draw-up a strategic but more importantly implementable road map that leads to more milestones."
© Oman Daily Observer 2016
