Despite surging global interest rates, inflation, gyrating currencies and geopolitical tensions, Ahli Islamic Bank has stayed the course. It has grown its business and worked to expand the industry, pursuing financial inclusion when it is needed most.
As Covid-19 uncertainty lifted in 2022, the bank, under chief executive Yousuf Al Rawahi, played its part in developing the national capital, Muscat, into a regional Islamic finance hub. It sponsored the first Al Roya Islamic Banking Conference, a sprawling event that featured a who’s who of regional officials and global financiers.
To generate maximum publicity, Ahli Islamic employed social media platforms and partnered with the Oman Banks Association to highlight local Shariah-compliant products and services and widen the appeal of the Islamic banking sector.
The event also showcased the government’s Oman Vision 2040, which prioritizes sustainability and the economic contribution of Islamic finance.
The message conveyed is that there’s great room for growth and service expansion in a still-young Islamic banking business. Ahli Islamic is determined to lead the industry and capitalize on opportunities by managing one of the strongest Shariah-compliant portfolios in the region.
The bank’s priorities include diversifying economic growth engines and revenue flows; increasing productivity; fostering an innovation and startup culture; and leveraging Oman’s regional competitive advantages, including a private sector increasingly integrated into the world economy and international trade flows. This will be done while focusing on inclusive and sustainable development.
Over the last decade, Ahli Islamic has steadily established itself as the premier banking franchise in the sultanate. A fact reflected in its strong balance sheet, which has grown roughly 400% in the last four years.
In the year ahead, Ahli Islamic says it will remain a ‘catalyser’ for peers to accelerate their digital transformation journeys
The bank is also an innovative powerhouse in the Omani Islamic banking sector. In 2022, it began instant issuances for debit cards across its branch network and greatly reducing turnaround times for many services. It introduced 12 different services that were firsts in the Gulf region, including digital channels for customers to open accounts and attain cards and cheque books.
Thanks to highly competitive digital offerings, Ahli Islamic operates with just 19 branches across Oman.
In the year ahead, Ahli Islamic wants to show the way for peers to accelerate their digital transformation journeys. It will do this by offering tailor-made products and services that increase demand for Islamic banking.
Its pioneering auto-finance programme is aligned with Islamic banking principles, as is its suite of services targeted high net-worth customers.
