Bank Nizwa has been named ‘Best Islamic Bank in Oman’ at the Islamic Finance News Best Banks Poll 2018: Innovation, creation and tradition. The IFN Best Banks Poll 2018 celebrates industry excellence across the world, recognizing the very best of global Shariah-compliant banking performance. Now in its 14th year and covering 38 categories, the IFN Best Banks Poll is one of the most prestigious accolades in the Islamic finance industry.

During 2018, the award-winning bank was able to lead the segment’s market share, successfully demonstrating strong resilience and performance across all its departments. It recorded the highest growth rate in the Sultanate’s banking industry with OMR 7.5 million in net profit representing a 98% growth after tax for the period ended 31 December 2018. In addition, the bank’s total assets grew by 25% to reach OMR 873 million compared to OMR 697 million last year, while its total customer deposit portfolio reached OMR 712 million achieving a growth of 35% year-on-year.

Khalid Al Kayed, CEO of Bank Nizwa said, “We are focused on continuously enhancing our Shari’a-compliant products and service portfolio, systems and building a stronger human capital. We have been successful in building a solid foundation for Islamic finance and banking in Oman that is based on the highest levels of service, transparency and dedication. This recent poll’s result is a testament to how Bank Nizwa is successfully holding the torch of the industry’s growth in Oman and leading it to greater heights.”

Bank Nizwa continues to obtain awards from the global finance market for its fully-fledged range of Shari’a-compliant solutions, its knowledge-based empowerment of local communities in raising the level of awareness on Islamic banking and its proven professionals and their level of expertise. The bank’s longlist of awards includes +25 local, regional and international awards over the years, including the ‘Strongest Islamic Retail Bank’ in the Sultanate at the Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA) 2018 for the fourth consecutive year, and ‘Islamic Bank of the Year’ by the leading Corporate Livewire Finance Awards, and ‘Excellence in CSR in Islamic Finance’ award at the regional Corporate Social, to name but a few.