Oman Sets Up Committee To Ensure Financial Stability

Oman’s government and regulators have set up a “financial stability committee” to monitor and manage risks in the banking and capital markets, the Gulf nation’s finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The creation of the committee follows a suggestion by the International Monetary Fund last year that Oman’s authorities “should articulate a formal mandate over financial stability”.

The Supreme Committee for Financial Stability includes the chief executive of the Capital Market Authority, representatives from the finance ministry and the ministry of commerce and industry, and the head of the central bank’s financial stability unit.

The committee will study risks and develop solutions. It will also coordinate authorities’ fiscal and monetary policy and prudential supervision, as well as the actions of regulators and supervisors, the finance ministry said.

Oman’s central bank acts as banking sector regulator while the Capital Market Authority is responsible for managing risks in the securities and insurance markets.

The country is spending heavily on huge industrial projects to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas. Rising pressure on state finances may prompt Oman to return to the international debt markets in coming years for the first time since 1997.