Bankmuscat Regs Regulatory News (BKM)

4 Apr 2007 07:29

BankMuscat (S.A.O.G)04 April 2007 BankMuscat Opens Branch in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Muscat & Riyadh. April 2, 2007: BankMuscat, the leading bank in the Sultanate ofOman, opened its first branch in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at King Fahd Roadin Riyadh on April 1, 2007. BankMuscat is the first bank from Oman to open abranch in the Kingdom. BankMuscat will provide Shar'iah Compliant banking services to customers in theKingdom, initially launching with specialized Consumer and Corporate Bankingservices, which include Current, Savings and Investment Accounts; ConsumerFinance; Corporate Finance, Trade Finance and ATM services. Product offeringswill be augmented with Private Banking and Investment Banking services in thenear future. The Bank also has a full-fledged ladies branch in its premises onKing Fahd Road. To mark this unique offering, the Bank has introduced a newbrand name, "Khayrat" which will be used along with the BankMuscat name. Delighted with the commencement of operations in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh AbdulMalikbin Abdullah Al Khalili, Chairman. BankMuscat said: "Saudi Arabia and Oman have long enjoyed a strong and excellent relationship. Weare very pleased that the opening of our branch in Riyadh will further cementthis relationship. Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the GCC and, therefore, offers significantretail and corporate banking opportunities. We believe that, the "Khayrat" brandwill help us effectively connect us with the people and build our identity as adistinguished bank in the region. We are committed towards our Saudi Arabianoperations in terms of capital assignment, expertise, employee development andsocial responsibility, and look forward to expanding our presence in the Kingdomin the near future." On regulatory support, he also expressed: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Kingdomand the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency for their support, guidance andencouragement. We look forward to providing our clients a pleasant bankingexperience with an expanding product range." BankMuscat plans to have a formal inauguration of its operations later duringthe year 2007 Ends About BankMuscat With total assets of over US $ 7.7 billion, BankMuscat is the largest bank inOman with a strong presence in Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, InvestmentBanking, Treasury, Private Banking and Asset Management. The Bank has a networkof 97 branches and over 200 ATMs in Oman. International presence includes arepresentative office in Dubai, associates in India (Centurion Bank of Punjab)and Bahrain (BankMuscat International) and now a branch in Saudi Arabia. BankMuscat has been voted the 'Best Bank in Oman' four times in a row by TheBanker, FT London, six times by Euromoney and seven times by Global Finance Inc.The Bank was awarded the People Development Award at Oman Awards for Excellence,three years in a row. BankMuscat achieved a net profit of US $ 156.9 million for the year ended 31December 2006, an increase of 33% over the previous year. The return on averageequity improved from 20.2% in 2005 to 21.9% in 2006, while basic earnings pershare increased from US $ 0.151 in 2005 to US $ 0.189 in 2006. The Bank's totalassets grew 48.2% to US $ 7.67 billion, net loans and advances portfolio grew by33.7% to US $ 4,765.4 million and customer deposits increased 40.7% to US $4,719.8 million as at 31 December 2006. Bank's capital under BIS normsaggregated to US $ 915.9 million as at December 31, 2006 with a capital adequacyratio of 15.42% (Tier 1: 12.47%). Contacts: Sukanti Ghosh Suha Al RaisiHead - Corporate Communications Officer - Corporate CommunicationsE-mail: sukantig@bankmuscat.com or E-mail: Suhaa@bankmuscat.comTel: + 968 24768595 Tel: + 968 24768595Fax: + 968 24787768 Fax: + 968 24787768 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange