Oman Banks Association hosts forum for members

A forum organised by the Oman Banks Association was attended by a large number of senior bankers from the different banks operating in the Sultanate. The forum was held under the auspices of Tahir Salim al Amri, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman, and Abdul Razak Ali Issa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oman Banks Association.

The objective of organising the forum was to create a platform for communication between the various banks operating in the Sultanate.

Oman Banks Association is a non-profit professional association created to represent the banking sector, to promote Omani banking activities, coordinate with the regulators on matters of policy and strategy, and to support banking excellence in Oman.

Member banks can nominate their executive staff to become representatives of the Association.

Currently, 192 bankers are members of the Association. Members have the right to vote and elect board members at the annual general meetings.

The event also witnessed the hosting of a farewell party for Abdul Razak Ali Issa, Chief Executive of Bank Muscat and Chairman of the OBA Board of Directors, who will retire from his post on December 31, 2018.

Abdul Razak, who has over 40 years of experience in the banking sector, assumed the role of CEO of Bank Muscat in 1994.

The prominent awards won by him in his illustrious career include the ‘Arab Banking Personality’ in 2012 awarded by the Arab Banking Union, the ‘Banking and Finance Personality of the Year’ at the Middle East CEO Awards in 2006, the ‘Best CEO’ award by Business Today magazine in 2002. He was also selected as one of the top 500 Arab personalities and won the ‘Power 500 — the World’s most influential Arab’ award by Arabian Business magazine.

Commenting on the event, Ali Hassan Moosa, CEO of the Oman Bank Association, said, “We are always striving to organise such events which play an important role in creating a platform for communication between different banks, especially since the dynamic banking sector is constantly evolving.

This is especially true with regards to the current rapid electronic transformation taking place in connection with the provision of banking services.”

“We are always seeking to implement full transparency through the application of local and international banking rules in cooperation with the Central Bank of Oman and all other banks to establish the Sultanate as a regional and global financial centre to promote the activities of banks in Oman locally and internationally.”