Oman’s Islamic banking assets rise 9.6% to $16.1bn

Central Bank of Oman

Total assets of Islamic banks and windows operating in Oman jumped by 9.6 percent year-on-year to OR 6.2 billion ($16.1 billion) in June 2022, Muscat Daily reported, citing Central Bank of Oman data.

Islamic banking assets account for 15.9 percent of the country’s total banking system assets.

An Islamic ‘window’ when a conventional financial institution has a dedicated section within a branch or unit dedicated to Islamic finance customers, but it not a separate entity.

The Shariah-compliant banking entities provided total financing of OR5.1 billion till end-June 2022, recording a robust growth of 11.2 percent year-on-year.

Total deposits held with Islamic banks and windows increased by 12.8 percent to OR4.7 billion in June year-on-year.

The Islamic banking entities nearly tripled profitability in 2021 from a drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said in its latest financial stability report.

In 2021, the Islamic banking sector exhibited a pre-tax profit of OR82 million against OR27.4 million a year ago, which improved the return-on-assets and return-on-equity of the industry.

According to the report, the central bank is working to introduce a range of Islamic money market instruments to meet the liquidity needs of the sector.