Muscat, March 21, 2019: As part of its continued commitment to the community, Oman Arab Bank (OAB), in collaboration with the Environment Society of Oman (ESO), recently organised a clean-up initiative at the Al Ghubrah Beach. The event saw the participation of over 40 participants consisting of ESO and OAB employees, together with their families.

Commenting on the beach clean-up, Hilal Omar al Siyabi, Head of the Corporate Social Responsibility Department at OAB noted, “There is much more to Corporate Social Responsibility than just providing financial support to NGOs and related social activities. For us here at OAB, we strongly believe that it should include opportunities for direct engagement of our employees with the community, which in turn will reflect positively on both parties. This is why we have always put increased focus on promoting a culture of volunteer work among our staff.”

The Bank also believes that serving the community is a national obligation and one that all members of society should be a part of. This event comes as part of OAB’s CSR initiatives, with OAB employees and their families showing great enthusiasm in joining hands with staff from the ESO to clean the Beach and reveal its true beauty and its prominence as one of the key tourism destinations in Muscat.

“We are also proud to have collaborated with ESO on this initiative. It is a wonderful organisation filled with like-minded people seeking to preserve the beauty of Oman for future generations. It was a genuine pleasure to see this initiative achieve success with such a good turnout from both parties and we look forward to working with them again in the future for other similar initiatives,” added Hilal al Siyabi.

ESO was founded in March 2004 by Omanis representing different regions and many different professional backgrounds. Membership is open to anyone above the age of 18 who has an interest in conserving the environment and ensuring that Oman’s natural heritage remains intact for future generations to enjoy.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, January 06, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB) will kick off 2019 with the launch of a host of new customer centric innovations as part of its ongoing digital transformation journey. It will do so at a press conference, which will be held later today, where it will also showcase its Next Gen ATMs and series of innovative digital solutions.

The press launch was presided over by the Bank’s CEO, Rashad Al Musafir, and accompanied by a number of executive members of the Bank’s Management and will include a live demonstration of the capabilities of the Next Gen ATMs.

OAB launched its transformation strategy a few years back with the ultimate aim of becoming the Bank of choice for customers in Oman. It has since continued to stay at the forefront of the Banking sector paving the way for the future with the launch of several new innovative digital banking solutions.

Muscat, 10 February 2019: In recognition of the importance of SMEs to the growth of the economy, Jamal Al-Wahaibi, the Head of the SME Department at Oman Arab Bank, recently participated in a panel at an MSME forum titled ‘Governance for Sustainable Growth: Enhancing MSME Outcomes’.  The event was organised by The Pearl Initiative and Zubair SEC on Wednesday, 06 February 2019 at the Zafran Cafe, Bait al Zubair Museum.

The event, which was attended by over 100 budding entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners from across the country, was focused on finding out why corporate governance matters to small businesses seeking funding, and what MSMEs can do to incorporate best practices in corporate governance for sustainable growth.

Commenting on his participation in the event, Jamal Al-Wahaibi said, “The key to achieving efficient economic diversification in any economy is to grow and develop the Small and Medium Enterprise landscape. They play a vital role in private sector development, breeding healthy competition within the local market while also providing vital employment opportunities and encouraging self-employment. This is why OAB places great importance in offering them as much support as possible; be it by offering them innovative tailor-made financial products tailored specifically for their businesses or by offering them consultancy and guidance either in person or by participating in events such as these.”

The event included a comprehensive introduction to Corporate Governance and a panel discussion with the participation of Jamal Al-Wahaibi representing OAB as a speaker. The panel was focused on how corporate governance capabilities will benefit the MSME community, and what steps MSMEs can take to incorporate tailored governance structures to ensure their business potential and longevity is achieved. It covered three primary topics – How to raise funding successfully, How to manage time and effort to be efficient, nimble, and innovative, and How to attract and retain talent.

“In addition to helping us offer them advice and assistance, forums such as these offer the perfect opportunity to interact in person with budding entrepreneurs and get a better understanding of the products and services they are looking for. This in turn helps us tailor our products to better cater to their financial needs,” concluded Jamal.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, February 27, 2019: Following the successful conclusion of the second edition of the ‘Leadership Enhancement And Development’ (LEAD) programme, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has announced the names of the 20 Omani staff who will make the third cohort of this future LEAD 3 programme.

As part of the assessment centre process, all LEAD candidates were required to complete an online 360 degree evaluation and the shortlisted candidates were then invited to attend an internal interview. The interview was attended by several members of the senior management team and selected LEAD graduates. The 20 that were shortlisted were then also required to complete the online Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) survey. The first module of LEAD 3, which was conducted over the course of two days, from February 12 – 13, focused on studying the individual results of these assessments in the context of self-awareness.

Commenting on the completion of the selection process, Adil Al Rahbi, Head of the Human Resources Division said, “Right from the beginning, we have realised the importance of building a pool of high potentials with well-structured career development plans and LEAD is the centre of our human capital development strategy. LEAD is more than just a modular or curricular programme. It is a personalised training intervention designed to address the mind-sets of the new generation, where more experimental and real-life learning situations are structured throughout the LEAD journey. LEAD is a programme that focuses on key elements, namely developing interpersonal skills, as well as developing the candidates’ ability to co-ordinate, motivate and shape a team. This in turn involves taking already talented individuals and moulding them into future leaders of the sector.”

LEAD 3 highlights the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it is applied in the banking sector. Apart from the scheduled modular sessions, LEAD delegates will be exposed to practical trainings as part of post LEAD activities, including managing projects of their choice.

“We believe that having a skilled, talented, and motivated workforce is the key to success in such a competitive market. And it is just as important to have a team of highly qualified leaders to guide them. This is why we developed and introduced our LEAD programme. Over the course of the next six months, each of the delegates will see their leadership skills and behaviours enhanced to an entirely new level. They will also have the opportunity to learn from some of the best experts in leadership development, ensuring career development and growth for years to come,” Adil added.

As with the previous LEAD programmes, LEAD 3 will be delivered in 4 x 2-day and 1 x 3-day modules spread across five months between February 2019 and June 2019. Each module will involve experiential learning as its principle methodology. There will also be two Socialisation Workshops; the first of which will be conducted before Module 1, while the second will take place after Module 2. In between modules 3 and 4, the 20 delegates will be split into four groups of five each and will be challenged with business project topics of keen interest to OAB.

LEAD is a unique and specialised leadership development program that aims to cultivate the talents of high potential Omanis with guidance from internationally renowned experts. The six-month programme has been designed to utilise best practices in order to empower participants with opportunity, managerial expertise, and high-level workplace solutions.

The ‘LEAD’ programme has been designed in cooperation with Inspirational Development Group (IDG) and is facilitated by a team from IDG, a globally renowned leadership and management performance consultancy. The company has channelled its long history of experience delivering high-quality and intensive work programmes to some of the most prestigious organisations in the world. Closely affiliated with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, IDG has worked with some of the most important public and private sector companies in the region from its Middle East office based in Muscat.

Oman Arab Bank is proud to have achieved the highest Omanisation percentage within the banking sector, nearing 96%. It is also one of the first banks to be established in Oman with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB also provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate, and investment clients.

Hires several nationals to fill vacancies in Sharqiya Branches

Muscat, February 11, 2019: As part of its efforts to enable young Omanis to start their careers in the banking sector, Oman Arab Bank (OAB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Manpower, organised a series of job interviews for citizens at the OAB Head Office. The shortlisted interviewees will soon be joining the Bank’s team to fill vacancies within its branches in the Sharqiya Governorate.

Commenting on this, Adil Al Rahbi, Head of Human Resources Division at OAB said, “We organised these interviews in line with our commitment to provide young Omanis with local job opportunities, especially for those looking for such opportunities in Sharqiya. This in turn, also provides them with an invaluable opportunity to kick start their careers in the Banking sector in one of the finest financial institutions in the Sultanate.”

It is worth noting that several job interviews were conducted by members from the Human Resources and Retail Banking Divisions. Shortly thereafter a number of candidates were shortlisted to fill retail banking vacancies within the Bank’s branches in the Sharqiya Governorate. The new joiners are expected to begin working in the new positions with the next couple of days.

Al Rahbi added, “We were impressed with the level of skill, knowledge, and capabilities showcased by each of the candidates who applied for the positions. We are confident that those selected will be a quality addition to the OAB team in Sharqiya. We are honoured to welcome them into the OAB family. We would like also to extend our gratitude and appreciation to the employees in the Ministry of Manpower, who provided our team with support in the communication process as well as in scheduling interviews with the candidates. Their assistance has been invaluable in facilitating our mission and achieving the Bank’s objectives.”

Oman Arab Bank is proud to have achieved the highest Omanisation percentage within the banking sector, nearing 96%. It is also one of the first banks to be established in Oman with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 152 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB also provides a complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate, and investment clients.