Listed on the Muscat Securities Market, NBO has a market capitalisation of $1.81bn as of July 2008. The diversified shareholder base includes the Commercial bank of Qatar, Suhail Bahwan Group, and government pension funds as core shareholders along with individuals and local institutional investors.
Being a leader of the private sector and second largest commercial bank in Oman in terms of total assets, shareholder equity and market capitalisation, NBO projects itself as a full-service commercial bank that offers cutting-edge solutions, designed to keep pace with businesses and tailor-made to meet every individual needs. The bank’s products and services include among many other facilities, retail banking, card services, wealth management, corporate banking, investment banking, trade finance, and corporate internet banking. Its corporate finance services include IPO management, loan syndications and business advisory services for trade and investments in Oman. Whether these requirements are within the Sultanate of Oman or beyond, the bank has the people, expertise and technology to help its clients achieve their goals in the most convenient manner.
Meanwhile, the bank maintains a network of 58 branches, including five branches in Egypt and one in the UAE, fully backed by both internet and telebanking services supported by 122 ATMs countrywide.
The bank’s strategy, which has generated a compounded annual growth rate of over 50 percent in all net profit over the last four years, is today a blend of both organic and inorganic business diversification. All core businesses have recorded consistently strong growth, along with improving asset quality and efficiency ratios, and a well diversified risk profile. Proactive investments in technology and human capital, together with a strong capital base and underwriting capabilities, provide a solid foundation for maintaining accelerated quality based growth.
Highly recommended
NBO has prime D+ (Ba1) and BBB credit ratings from Moody’s and Capital intelligence rating agencies successively. Both agencies are globally recognised in their relative fields. These ratings reflect the bank’s consistently strong financial performance and solid earnings power, good risk profile, healthy asset quality, strong capitalisation and stable efficiency indicators.
The strengths of NBO, as assessed by the above rating agencies, include a well-established and growing banking franchise in Oman, and a strong retail banking presence, coupled with an experienced management team.
A strategic alliance concluded between National Bank of Oman (NBO) and Commercialbank of Qatar (Cb) in 2005 has allowed both banks to take advantage of the dynamic changes facing the banking industry in the GCC, diversify risks and achieve economies of scale.
With a deep sense of social responsibility as the nation’s bank, NBO is committed to community support through its corporate citizenship programs.
In addition to donations and financial support to various local charities and social, health, sport, and educational organisations, the bank also regularly participates in fundraising programs and lends generous support to a range of other worthy and deserving causes in Oman.
The bank’s sustained efforts to incorporate corporate social responsibility in every aspect of business were rewarded by the Bank being selected as the ‘Best Bank in Corporate Social Responsibility in Oman for 2007’ by World Finance magazine.
The bank believes that every business decision taken has an impact on society and the environment and so it is imperative for it to consciously address the issues facing it with solutions that facilitate a process of sustainable development that envisages the pursuit of economic prosperity without harming the environment or at the expense of the members of society, including staff and communities.
Making sure of development
The bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involves not only responding innovatively, but proactively, by offering solutions to societal and environmental challenges. It is a process of collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure sustainable development.
NBO always strives to incorporate CSR in every aspect of its business and to have in place systems that measure, report and continuously improve its social, environmental and economic performance.
Emanating from its strong belief that any business has to give something back to the community in which it operates and from which it derives its revenues, National Bank of Oman takes its role as a corporate citizen seriously in all the three jurisdictions in which it has presence.
NBO’s contribution to the community takes different forms. It continuously supports any activity that adds to the development of young people and the nation as a whole. The list of the institutions that receive support from National Bank of Oman includes among many others Oman Charitable Organisation, Oman Association for the Disabled and Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children. NBO also gives numerous donations to schools across the Sultanate of Oman around the year as part of the initiative.
NBO also actively participates in the various developmental projects including privatisation projects initiated by the government. A Summer Internship for Omani students graduating from various colleges in the Sultanate of Oman is another of NBO’s CSR contributions.
NBO has been actively sponsoring ministries, organisations, events and programmes such as Muscat Securities Market’s Gatherings; Blood Donations; Salalah Khareef Festival, Muscat Festival etc to mention a few. The bank maintains and promotes a very high level of ethical standards within and outside its premises.
As part of its efforts to mainstream CSR into its business strategy, the bank participates regularly in Career Fairs to identify talented Omani students for potential recruitment within the bank as well as supporting government efforts towards developing Human Resources within Oman. An example of this is the bank’s sponsorship of candidates for the ‘Intilaaqah’ program conducted by Shell Marketing to groom talented youths to undertake self-employment.
In fact, the bank was also the first bank in Oman to organise an exclusive Career Fair for young Omanis. In addition, the “NBO Management Trainee Program”, launched by the bank last year, is regarded as a unique program in the banking sector – NBO is first bank to have initiated such a programme.
The Program includes training of the participants in the different divisions of the Bank; assigning them to various projects aimed at developing and enhancing different banking services in the organisation. Trainees are able to get hands-on experience in the various areas of banking, develop their communication skills; inter-personal skills, leadership skills as well as develop overall capabilities. At the end of the Program, trainees undergo an evaluation prepared by an external body and the bank’s management.
The Management Trainee Program forms a critical part of the bank’s strategy to support Omanisation efforts and produce future leaders.
The bank is also engaged in a number of local projects handled by Omani entrepreneurs, thus acting as a catalyst for national development.
The bank is also involved in a number of sports initiatives to develop sports in Oman by sponsoring many athletes, particularly in football.
NBO is now in the process of enhancing its program of funding Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) so as to broaden the areas of business within the country.
