The seventh edition of New Age Banking Summit Oman, supported by Oman Banks Association, was organized by UMS Events on 31st May at Al Bustan Palace - A Ritz Carlton Hotel. His Excellency Tahir Salim Al Amri, Executive President, Central Bank of Oman (CBO) was the Chief Guest. The event was attended by leading names from the banking, finance, investments, fintech and insurance industries apart from the Central Bank of Oman, Ministry of Finance and Oman Investment Authority.

In his keynote address, His Excellency Tahir Salim Al Amri talked about the digital transformation in the way financial services are produced and delivered, evolution of payments and settlement systems, and the challenges with growing digitalization. He stated that CBO is committed to support innovation and modernization while preserving financial stability.     

The Summit hosted a panel discussion titled ‘The Future of Banking and Financial Services’. The panel comprising the well-known industry leaders from banking, fintech and technology solution providers, deliberated on the new trends in digital banking & payments and the future of the financial services sector with evolving customer needs. The panelists included Ali Hassan Moosa, CEO, Oman Banks Association; Badar Al Shanfari, Chief Operating Officer (COO), OMINVEST; Ewan John MacLeod, Chief Transformation Officer, Sohar International; Mujahid Al Zadjaly, GM - IT & Operations, Bank Nizwa; Eng.Maqbool Al Wahaibi, CEO, Oman Data Park; Ali Al Lawati, Country Leader – Oman & Yemen, Cisco; and Hussain Al Maimani, Head - Banking & Energy, GBM.

The Summit was a unique platform for the banking and finance professionals to discuss the new developments in global banking and debate on the focus areas for Omani banks. The event hosted a line-up of speakers including Hassan Abdul Ali, General Manager - Business Development, Oman Data Park; Manahil Jaffar, Manager - Corporate Services, Mala’a; Dalel Maghrebi, Manager - Digital Business Solutions (DBS), GBM Oman; and Shadi Al Shami, Senior Systems Architect, Cisco. The event culminated with a workshop on ‘ESG Adoption in BFSI Sector’ conducted by Imad Alfadel, Founder & Managing Partner, ESG Integrate, UAE.

The event was supported by leading companies – GBM and Cisco as the Lead Partners; Bank Nizwa as the Strategic Partner; Sohar International as the Digital Transformation Partner; ahlibank and ahli islamic as the Associate Partners; Taageer Finance as the Finance Partner; Oman Data Park as the Cloud Services Partner; Global iTS as the Technology Partner; National Life & General Insurance as the Composite Insurance Partner; United Securities and United GCC Fund as the Support Partners; Ubhar Capital as the Knowledge Partner; ESG Integrate as the ESG Partner and UMS Digital as the Digital Support Partner.

The event witnessed the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to work together between Bank Nizwa and Oman Data Park for collaboration on AI Innovation and Deployment, and Data Center Partnership. On the occasion, Oman Data Park and Alliance Network also signed to work together for colocation.

Oman Banking & Finance Awards 2022 were co-located with the New Age Banking Summit. Bank Muscat won the Best Bank award in the large banks category. Bank Nizwa was presented with the Best Bank award in the mid-size banks category. The Fastest Growing Bank in the large banks category went to Sohar International. National Finance walked away with the best Non Banking Finance & Leasing Company award. The winners for these awards were selected based on a survey of banks and NBFCs done by OER and Ubhar Capital; the results were verified by Abu Timam Grant Thornton. The survey was based on the banks and NBFCs financial performance on various parameters over the last four years.

In addition, various best performing companies and industry leaders in banking, leasing, insurance, fintech and investments were felicitated with the special awards. The winners of special awards were selected by the editorial board of OER.

The complete list of winners is as follows –

  • Excellence in Investments: OMINVEST
  • Excellence in Customer Experience in Finance & Leasing: Taageer Finance
  • Excellence in Asset Management & Brokerage: United Securities
  • Excellence in Insurance Services: National Life & General Insurance
  • Excellence in Digital Transformation in Finance & Leasing: Taageer Finance
  • Industry Leadership in Virtual Data Centres: Oman Data Park
  • Excellence in CRM Solutions for BFSI: Global iTS
  • Digital Transformation Partner of the Year: GBM
  • Technology Person of the Year: Ali Al Lawati, Country Leader – Oman & Yemen, Cisco
  • Excellence in Credit Information Services: Al Mala’a
  • Excellence in Digital Transformation in Banking: Sohar International
  • Excellence in Mobile Banking: Bank Nizwa
  • Excellence in Corporate Banking: ahlibank
  • Best Non Banking Finance & Leasing Company: National Finance
  • Best Bank – Mid Size: Bank Nizwa
  • Fastest Growing Bank - Large Banks: Sohar International
  • Best Bank - Large: Bank Muscat

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