National Bank of Oman wins regional award

By A Staff Reporter
MUSCAT — The National Bank of Oman (NBO), the second largest commercial bank in Oman, has won the ‘Regional 2008 Bank Corporate Governance Award’ which is given by the Institute of Corporate Governance (Hawkamah) and the Union of Arab Banks (UAB). Launched in 2007 by Hawkamah and UAB, the Regional Bank Corporate Governance Award seeks to identify and honour banks across the Middle East and North Africa that show leadership and initiative in enhancing good corporate governance. Sponsored by MasterCard Worldwide, the award has become a prestigious, competitive and highly coveted bank award that highlights the industry’s strong commitment to good corporate governance.

To win this award NBO beat off competition from 35 banking peers in 13 countries across the region, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, KSA, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia and the UAE. The criteria for the award included commitment to good corporate governance; structure and functioning of the Board of Directors (or equivalent Supervisory Board); control environment and processes; transparency and disclosure; and treatment of minority shareholders. The award gave NBO a chance to benchmark its policies and structures against global best-practices and to obtain feedback from leading international experts. And, as the winner, NBO was recognised for its forward-thinking corporate governance practices.

Selection of the winners of the 2008 Regional Bank Corporate Governance Award was based upon a rigorous assessment carried out by a distinguished jury panel comprised of international banking and governance experts including Charles Freeland, a well known international banking consultant and former deputy secretary-general, Basel Committee on Banking; Alan McIntyre, Financial Services Sector Leader for the Middle East Region for PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Chris Pierce, Chairman of Global Governance Services Ltd. The award was presented at a gala ceremony held recently in Dubai. Senior Omani representatives from the National Bank of Oman, including Mansoor Darwish al Raisi, Deputy General Manager — Compliance and Hassan Abdul Amir Shaban, Assistant General Manager — Corporate Communications, received the award on behalf of the bank.

Commenting on the award, Murray Sims, NBO’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We are delighted that National Bank of Oman has won this prestigious award. NBO’s governance practices are in constant evolution, updating policies and structures to meet shareholder requirements and current trends. Good governance requires a long-term focus and a commitment to continuous improvement. It is essential to creating lasting value for the bank’s local, regional and international stakeholders. This award for the bank’s top ranking in governance validates our efforts.”