The Islamic Finance Handbook: A Practitioner's Guide to the Global Markets

21OmanThe Dawn of Islamic Banking

Azmat Rafique

Head, Islamic Banking, Al Yusr Arab Bank

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has allowed licenses for two full-fledged Islamic banks and six Islamic banking windows. As of October 2013, all had launched their operations.

International banks have also shown an interest in setting up Islamic banking operations in Oman, but no news of their applying for licenses has been confirmed by the CBO yet. The Oman Sultanate Information Source (OSIS) estimated in 2012 that there are more than 2 million potential customers of Islamic banking in the country. This estimate was based on the number of Muslims in Oman and taking into account the probable adoption of Islamic banking by non-Muslims.

The value of the Islamic banking sector in the Middle East is US$210 billion. Globally it is estimated to be worth more than US$1.3 trillion. Ernst & Young has forecast that a successful rollout of Islamic banking infrastructure could see the industry in Oman gaining up to US$6 billion in Islamic assets in the next few years.

Ernst & Young also projects that as new opportunities open up, Islamic banking assets in the Middle East and Africa could double to US$990 billion in 2015. The CBO has indicated that the Islamic banking sector in Oman will grow to represent 10–20 percent of the regional market in less than five years. This suggests a market size well in excess of US$100 billion by 2018.

Retail Banking

Since the commencement of Islamic banking, the industry ...