Monday 21st, November 2016

Amid a competitive environment, Islamic finance sector in the Sultanate continues to maintain sustainable growth.

The total assets of Islamic banks and windows combined, amounted to RO 2.8 billion in the first nine months of 2016.

This constituted about 9.4 per cent of the total banking system assets.

According to the latest data from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), the Islamic banking entities provided financing to the extent of RO 2.2 billion at the end of September 2016 when compared to RO 1.5 billion a year ago.

Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows registered a significant increase to RO 2 billion in September 2016 from RO 1.3 billion outstanding during the corresponding period last year.

At the same time, the total outstanding credit extended by the other depository corporations stood at RO 21.8 billion at the end of September 2016, a rise of 11 per cent over the level witnessed a year ago.

Credit to the private sector increased by 13.2 per cent to RO 19.7 billion as at the end of September 2016.

Of the total credit to the private sector, the household sector, mainly under personal loans, and the non- financial corporate sector got an equal share of 45.8 per cent each, financial corporations at 5.1 per cent and other sectors the remaining 3.2 per cent. According to the CBO report, the share of households reached 48.9 per cent of the total private sector deposit base, followed by non-financial corporations at 28.1 per cent, financial corporations at 19.6 per cent and the other sectors at 3.2 per cent.

In the Islamic banking sector, Bank Nizwa alone registered a growth of 47 per cent in its total assets at the end of the third quarter of this year to reach RO 465 million compared with RO 316 million at end of September 2015.

The total deposits of Al Izz Bank increased by 84.8 per cent to RO 268.95 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal from RO 145.6 million for the same period last year.

“The pace of expansion and growth in Islamic banking indicates growing demand for sharia-compliant products in the marketplace. We believe that Islamic banking has enormous potential and opportunities to grow”, said Amjed al Busaidi, Chairman of Bank Nizwa.

© Oman Daily Observer 2016