CBO Board of Governors holds second meeting for 2024

Muscat: The Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) on Wednesday convened its second meeting for 2024, at CBO’s head office in the commercial district of Muttrah.

The Board reviewed the items presented in the agenda of its meeting.

It addressed the salient features of the framework for regulating and monitoring digital banks to keep pace with modern developments, increase efficiency in providing banking and financial services, enhance financial inclusion, and determine the way forward in regulating digital banks.

As a result of the growth in Islamic banking products and services in the Sultanate of Oman, and the belief of the Central Bank of Oman in the necessity of continuing development of the financial sector in various fields; during its meeting, the Board approved the fundamentals of the regulatory framework for licencing Finance and Leasing Companies (FLCs) that are compatible with Sharia. It aims to support the growth of the FLCs sector and enable it to provide diverse banking products and services.

The Board also approved the framework policies of the Oman Credit and Financial Information Centre “Mala’a”, approved its organisational structure and amendments to its financial regulations, and approved the issuance of the centre’s information security policy.

Moreover, during its meeting, the Board reviewed a number of topics, the most important of which were financial soundness indicators for banks, and a report on the financial position of the Central Bank of Oman.

The Board also discussed the prospects and challenges of stability in the Omani economy, the position of reserves, and the performance of the CBO’s foreign investments.

The Board also reviewed the semi-annual report of the project to enhance the efficiency of monetary policy, the report on the progress of the bank’s second strategic plan (2024-2026) and the evaluation of the first strategic plan (2021-2023), the annual report of the bank Deposit Insurance Scheme, and the quarterly report of the Oman Credit and Financial Information Centre “Mala’a”.

The Board also reviewed a number of studies and topics on the agenda and appropriate decisions were taken regarding them.