CBO Holds Annual Bankers’ Meeting 2024

Muscat, 8 Dec (ONA) —— The Annual Bankers’ Meeting 2024 “Digitalizing Tomorrow” was held at the Royal Academy of Management (RAM) today under the chairmanship of Tahir Salim Al Amri, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

The event saw the participation of CEOs and senior officials of licensed banks, payment service providers (PSPs) operating in the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Banks Association (OBA).

The Executive President of CBO in his opening remarks highlighted the directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik emphasizing the vital role of the banking sector in enhancing economic growth and adapting to the developments in global banking and financial policies. These directives aim to support the business environment and stimulate economic activity in the country during the upcoming phase.

He also highlighted in his opening remarks the government’s important initiatives to drive the economic diversification, fostering fiscal sustainability, and supporting the private sector. He spoke about the proactive measures taken by the CBO for more efficient and inclusive financial services industry to facilitate government’s key initiatives and encouraging banks to further refine their strategies to benefit from the new opportunities and government economic development programmes.

The CBO Executive President extended his thanks and appreciation to all the banks and the OBA for their steadfast support towards this endeavour and also for successful completion of Oman FATF Mutual Evaluation.

The meeting highlighted the improved optimism on Oman economy among domestic and foreign investors as reflected by the licensing and entry of four new banks in the country and also several PSPs to the Oman financial ecosystem, besides improvements in Oman’s sovereign credit rating to BBB- representing the return of the Sultanate of Oman to investment grade.

During the discussions, participants deliberated on a series of new regulatory measures taken by CBO to revolutionize the financial landscape of the Sultanate of Oman for the benefit of both the businesses and the financial customers while ensuring Oman’s financial sector to remain at the forefront of technological advancements to drive digitalization and sustainability.

This year’s meeting featured a CEO Panel Discussion. It presented a crucial opportunity for participants to deliberate on the future of banking in the digital age. It allowed CEOs to articulate their perspectives on how the digital transformation of banking is reshaping the way banks and other financial institutions should operate and how they should deliver services to satisfy their customers.

The discussion aimed to underscore how the banking sector would navigate changes, embrace innovation, and prepare banks and other financial institutions in the Sultanate of Oman for the growing digital transformation landscape.

—— Ends/AH