A powerful presence in Oman, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) was established on 1st October 1984 as a closed joint stock company. The bank began its operations after acquiring the branches of Arab Bank , Plc., Jordan , which had been operating in Oman since 1973. Then in 1992, operations in the Sultanate were further expanded by the acquisition of all the retail branches of Omani European Bank, with which OAB then merged in 1994. 49% of the Bank's share capital is held by Arab Bank Plc. and the remaining 51% is held by a leading Omani investment company, Oman International Development and Investment Co. SAOG.

      Initially established with a share capital of RO 6 million, this capital has increased progressively over the years and on 31st December 2007 amounted to RO 48 million. The shareholders funds, comprising share capital and reserves, at December 2007 amounted to RO 88 million, while the Capital Adequacy ratio, calculated in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Bank for International Settlements was 17.73% at December 2006

     OAB's growth and success can largely be attributed to its conservative philosophy. Since its inception, OAB has followed the principles of business conservatism of the Arab Bank Plc, with a particular emphasis on providing the highest level of personalized services to its customers.

   The bank continued to be on top of the list of banks providing project finance and related services in the country. The major recent projects financed include Salalah Methanol, Sur IWP, Barka IWPP phase II, Oman Shipping Company, Oman Aromatics and Sohar Aluminum. This is in addition to the facilities granted to the EPC contractors of these projects. OAB has also provided facilities to Sohar Port development 3rd phase, Salalah Port expansion, Oman Wastewater project and many other international and local companies. This has also contributed to the increase on the total assets of the bank with an impressive growth of 21% in the loans and 12% in personal loans. The customer deposits recorded a growth of 17% during the year.

   In a step that further reflects OAB's commitment to meeting customer requirements, the Bank set up a unit for local and international investment management. The unit offers a range of investment portfolios in addition to investment management, financial issue coverage, brokerage services and custodian services.

  OAB has consistently received excellent credit ratings from international rating agencies such as BankWatch, Capital Intelligence and Moody's. These ratings have always been the highest among the Omani banks.

  The distinguishing features of the Bank are its focus to provide personalized customer services of the highest standards, an in-depth Omani market knowledge, broad product skills, and a commitment to excellence. In addition, OAB has a particular specialization in the provision of trade finance such as export and import letter of credit.

  Within the Sultanate of Oman, OAB has around 50 branches and offices. The Bank has also an extensive international reach through nearly 400 branches and associates of Arab Bank Plc in more than 29 countries in five continents.