As part of Bank Nizwa’s strategy to nurture and promote Omani talent, the Board of Directors of Oman’s first Islamic Bank, has announced the appointment of Salim Rashid Ali Al Maharbi as its Chief Financial Officer. He will be responsible for all the bank’s financial activities, including business planning, budgeting and forecasting, financial accounting, financial reporting and financial control. The Bank also welcomes Mohammed Hamed Nasser Al Hashmi as Head of Compliance.

Khalid Al Kayed, CEO of Bank Nizwa said, “We are confident that both Salim and Mohammed’s expertise will help us drive the business forward. They are well versed in Islamic finance and their experience will be a valued asset for the bank. We are looking forward to continue leading the way for the sector by nurturing our most valuable asset that is our people. They are well-trained, experienced and above all driven ambassadors for Bank Nizwa now and into the future.”

An industry veteran, Al Maharbi has over two decades of banking experience at well-respected financial institutions, including international ones. Prior to joining Bank Nizwa, he was Chief Manager, Commercial and Finance at Bank Sohar. Al Maharbi is experienced in the field of financial reporting and accounting, management accounting, internal controls, business planning and performance management. He recently obtained a leadership certificate in Islamic Finance with distinction from a specialized institute in the UK.

Al Hashmi has been at Bank Nizwa for more than three years, during which he has achieved tremendous career growth. Besides his role of Head of Compliance, Al Hashmi is also a Secretariat to Bank Nizwa’s Board Governance, Risk and Compliance Committee and he is also a member of the bank’s Executive Management Committee. His professional career spans over a decade in various fields comprising financial reporting, regulatory reporting, risk management, credit, investment banking, treasury, internal audit, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, financings and deposits. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and a number of international banking certificates from the United States of America (USA), besides Banking supervision related certificates awarded by Deutche Bundes Bank, Germany and Central Bank of Egypt, and Islamic banking-related certificates awarded by the Islamic Research and Training Institute, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) held in Oman.

Although Islamic finance is a relatively new industry, Bank Nizwa is training and bringing in the next generation of Omani talent to take the helm. The bank has adopted a proactive approach to development and has become the go-to source for Islamic finance in the Sultanate. It has also become the employer-of-choice for fresh graduates and veteran experts alike.

Moving forward, Bank Nizwa will continue its efforts to raise awareness on Islamic finance. To date it has led several industry-leading initiatives including the nationwide roadshow, the Islamic Finance Knowledge Series and the annual Islamic Banking Knowledge Forum.