Oman Approves New Islamic Bank

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has given its approval for the establishment of Bank Nizwa to provide Islamic banking services within the Sultanate. In a statement issued here Sunday and reported by Oman News Agency (OMA), the CBO said it will consider any application submitted by any bank operating in the Sultanate to open branches for the Islamic banking, which will be governed by the regulations stipulated in the Banking Law, as well as related CBO by-laws. The CBO's approval comes in implementation of the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos on the establishment of Islamic banks in the Sultanate, seeking to provide an opportunity to citizens who wish to benefit from such services as it is the case with existing Islamic banks in a number of countries around the world .