Bank Muscat

Bank Muscat is a financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman providing corporate banking, retail banking, investment banking, treasury, private banking and asset management. The bank, with assets worth US$ 31.9 billion in 2018, has the largest network in Oman exceeding 150 branches.[4] As of 2022, the bank has more than 2 million customers, 174 branches, and more than 800 points of interaction,[5] including automated teller machines (ATM), deposit machines (CDM), and full-function machines (FFM).[6]

Operations

The international operations consist of a branch each in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and representative offices in Dubai, UAE and Singapore.[7] The Bank has whole ownership of Muscat Capital, a brokerage and investment banking entity in Saudi Arabia,[8] and an 11.8% stake in Silkbank in Pakistan.[9]

Recognition

Bank Muscat was voted the ‘Best Bank in Oman’ for seven years by The Banker,[10] FT London[11][12][13] nine years in a row by Global Finance and Euromoney.[14][15] Bank Muscat is the recipient of the Hewitt recognition as the Middle East's Best Employer 2009.[16] The Bank was declared an Investor in People (IiP) organisation in January 2007, becoming the first banking organisation in the MENA region to be awarded the global recognition.[16] In 2004, Bank Muscat became the first bank in the Middle East to be completely ISO 9000:2000 certified.[17] In 2022, the bank was ranked among the top 30 banks in the region by Forbes Middle East.[18]

International issues

In 2013, the bank was hit by a $39 million fraud scheme using prepaid travel cards accessed from outside of Oman.[19] This led to an impairment charge impacting 10.5% of Bank Muscat's earnings for the period.[20]

In 2016, the United States Department of the Treasury secretly issued a license to Bank Muscat to convert $5.7 billion in Iranian overseas reserves from Omani rials into euros via United States dollars, something not normally permitted due to United States sanctions against Iran.[21]

External links