Oman’s Bank Nizwa Obtains Investment Banking Licence

Bank Nizwa, Oman’s first full-fledged Islamic bank, has received an investment banking licence that will allow it to manage funds and issue instruments such as Islamic bonds, the lender said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

The bank launched operations in January and is gradually rolling out a range of sharia-compliant products, aiming to grab a five per cent share of the country’s overall banking market in five years.

In December, Oman became the last country in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council to adopt Islamic finance, issuing extensive regulations for the sector.