RIYADH, 4 April 2007 — BankMuscat, the leading bank in the Sultanate of Oman, announced the opening of its first branch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at King Fahd Road in Riyadh. BankMuscat is the first bank from Oman to open a branch in the Kingdom.
BankMuscat will provide Shariah-compliant banking services to customers in the Kingdom, initially launching with specialized consumer and corporate banking services, which include current, savings and investment accounts; consumer finance; corporate finance; trade finance and ATM services.
Product offerings will be augmented with private banking and investment banking services in the near future. The bank also has a full-fledged ladies branch in its premises on King Fahd Road. To mark this unique offering, the bank has introduced a new branch name, “Khayrat”, which will be used along with the BankMuscat name.
Delighted with the commencement of operations in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al-Khalili, chairman, BankMuscat said: “Saudi Arabia and Oman have long enjoyed a strong and excellent relationship.
We are very pleased that the opening of our branch in Riyadh will further cement this relationship.
Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the GCC and, therefore, offers significant retail and corporate banking opportunities. We believe that the “Khayrat” brand will help us effectively connect with the people and build our identity as a distinguished bank in the region. We are committed toward our Saudi Arabian operations in terms of capital assignment, expertise, employee development and social responsibility and look forward to expanding our presence in the Kingdom in the near future.”
On regulatory support, he said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Kingdom and the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency for their support, guidance and encouragement. We look forward to providing our clients a pleasant banking experience with an expanding product range.”
BankMuscat plans to have a formal inauguration of its operations later this year.
