Company Insights Central Bank of Oman Banking & Finance Central Bank of Oman Overview The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) was founded in December 1974 and began operations in 1975, replacing the Oman Currency Board. Before 1970 Oman had no national banking authority. The Banking Law of 1974 paved the way for the CBO’s establishment. Its primary responsibilities include maintaining the stability of the Omani Rial and ensuring the country’s monetary and financial stability. The CBO set up College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS) in 1983 and offers undergraduate and postgraduate studies to encourage more Omanis to join the banking sector. In 2022 the CBO signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s National Payments Corporation to explore linking payment systems between Oman and India, including debit card usage and mobile payments. Central Bank of Oman News Banking & Finance Total profits at Oman’s banks up 15% in 2024 Banks in Oman recorded a 15.2 percent year on year rise in profits in 2024. Total profits reached OMR522.6 million ($1.36 billion) last year, up from OMR453.5 million in 2023, the Central Bank of Oman said. The increase was attributed to the country’s robust economic growth last year through project financing, mortgages and loans to […] January 31, 2025 Opinion Banking & Finance Oman must empower SMEs by removing banking barriers The country has much to gain from supporting its entrepreneurs with easier access to funding October 7, 2024 Banking & Finance Oman licence is ‘tremendous’ win for Egypt’s Paymob Digital payments company Paymob has secured a licence to expand into Oman and says it represents a “tremendous opportunity” as e-commerce transactions soar. The Cairo-based business has announced that it has received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) payment service provider licence, the first international fintech to do so. The licence authorises Paymob to accept […] January 17, 2024 Banking & Finance Bank Muscat to invest $390m in GCC-listed banks Bank Muscat is to invest up to 150 million riyals ($389.97 million) in various GCC-listed banks as part of its growth strategy. The sharia-compliant lender said in a statement on the Muscat Stock Exchange on Monday that it was given an in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Oman to set up a wholly owned […] January 15, 2024 Finance Oman’s total foreign assets rise 27% to $18bn Total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) increased 27.4 percent year on year to OMR 6.86 billion ($17.82 billion) by the end of July 2023. Local liquidity stood at OMR21.36 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent year on year, state-owned Oman News Agency reported, citing National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI). […] October 3, 2023 Economy Oman GDP falls after slowdown in oil activities Oman’s GDP recorded a fall of 9.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, largely as a result of a slowdown in oil-related activities. The sultanate’s GDP was OMR10.1 billion ($26.24 billion) in the second quarter, compared with OMR11.1 billion for the same period last year, according to the National Center for Statistics and […] September 25, 2023 Banking & Finance Sohar International Bank and HSBC Oman to merge Sohar International Bank and HSBC Bank Oman have signed a binding merger agreement following talks that started in June 2022. All assets and liabilities of HSBC Bank Oman will be transferred to Sohar International upon the conclusion of the deal. The banks, which did not disclose the deal value, said that upon completion HSBC Oman […] May 31, 2023 Banking & Finance Oman’s Ahli Bank rejects merger offer from Bank Dhofar Oman-based Ahli Bank has rejected a non-binding offer from the sultanate’s second-biggest lender Bank Dhofar for a possible merger. “The Board of Directors has studied the proposal and decided not to accept it,” Ahli Bank said in a bourse filing, without providing a reason for the board’s decision. Bank Dhofar has assets worth $11.2 billion, […] April 12, 2023 Banking & Finance Central bank approves HSBC Oman and Sohar International merger HSBC Bank Oman and Sohar International have received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) approval for their merger proposal, the banks said in separate statements to the Muscat Stock Exchange. The merger is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023 following approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two banks. In previous […] February 6, 2023 Banking & Finance Oman and India study e-linking some payment services The Central Bank of Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s flagship payments processor, National Payments Corporation of India, to study the possibility of linking some payment systems between the two countries, according to Oman’s state news agency. The MoU aims at studying the possibility of connecting the unified payments interface and RuPay Card, […] October 5, 2022 Posts navigation 1 2 Next
Banking & Finance Total profits at Oman’s banks up 15% in 2024 Banks in Oman recorded a 15.2 percent year on year rise in profits in 2024. Total profits reached OMR522.6 million ($1.36 billion) last year, up from OMR453.5 million in 2023, the Central Bank of Oman said. The increase was attributed to the country’s robust economic growth last year through project financing, mortgages and loans to […] January 31, 2025
Opinion Banking & Finance Oman must empower SMEs by removing banking barriers The country has much to gain from supporting its entrepreneurs with easier access to funding October 7, 2024
Banking & Finance Oman licence is ‘tremendous’ win for Egypt’s Paymob Digital payments company Paymob has secured a licence to expand into Oman and says it represents a “tremendous opportunity” as e-commerce transactions soar. The Cairo-based business has announced that it has received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) payment service provider licence, the first international fintech to do so. The licence authorises Paymob to accept […] January 17, 2024
Banking & Finance Bank Muscat to invest $390m in GCC-listed banks Bank Muscat is to invest up to 150 million riyals ($389.97 million) in various GCC-listed banks as part of its growth strategy. The sharia-compliant lender said in a statement on the Muscat Stock Exchange on Monday that it was given an in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Oman to set up a wholly owned […] January 15, 2024
Finance Oman’s total foreign assets rise 27% to $18bn Total foreign assets at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) increased 27.4 percent year on year to OMR 6.86 billion ($17.82 billion) by the end of July 2023. Local liquidity stood at OMR21.36 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent year on year, state-owned Oman News Agency reported, citing National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI). […] October 3, 2023
Economy Oman GDP falls after slowdown in oil activities Oman’s GDP recorded a fall of 9.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, largely as a result of a slowdown in oil-related activities. The sultanate’s GDP was OMR10.1 billion ($26.24 billion) in the second quarter, compared with OMR11.1 billion for the same period last year, according to the National Center for Statistics and […] September 25, 2023
Banking & Finance Sohar International Bank and HSBC Oman to merge Sohar International Bank and HSBC Bank Oman have signed a binding merger agreement following talks that started in June 2022. All assets and liabilities of HSBC Bank Oman will be transferred to Sohar International upon the conclusion of the deal. The banks, which did not disclose the deal value, said that upon completion HSBC Oman […] May 31, 2023
Banking & Finance Oman’s Ahli Bank rejects merger offer from Bank Dhofar Oman-based Ahli Bank has rejected a non-binding offer from the sultanate’s second-biggest lender Bank Dhofar for a possible merger. “The Board of Directors has studied the proposal and decided not to accept it,” Ahli Bank said in a bourse filing, without providing a reason for the board’s decision. Bank Dhofar has assets worth $11.2 billion, […] April 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Central bank approves HSBC Oman and Sohar International merger HSBC Bank Oman and Sohar International have received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) approval for their merger proposal, the banks said in separate statements to the Muscat Stock Exchange. The merger is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023 following approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two banks. In previous […] February 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Oman and India study e-linking some payment services The Central Bank of Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India’s flagship payments processor, National Payments Corporation of India, to study the possibility of linking some payment systems between the two countries, according to Oman’s state news agency. The MoU aims at studying the possibility of connecting the unified payments interface and RuPay Card, […] October 5, 2022
