Bank Nizwa Hopeful of Success Soon

The Chief Executive Officer of Bank Nizwa, Jamil Al Jaroudi, is hoping that the bank will be able to post a profit within two and one half years of launching operations, which is planned for the coming month.

"We aim to make our first profit in 2014 though we would like to make it happen sooner in the first year of our operation but that may not be possible,” Jaroudi said in an interview.

The board will be elected when the shareholders meet this coming July 31st, Jaroudi added.

"We will start our operation two weeks after that with three branches, in Nizwa, Sohar and Muscat. Eighteen months after the start of our operation, we hope to open about seven branches nationwide,” Jaroudi also said.

Bank Nizwa is the first bank in Oman run according to Islamic law. Nizwa’s initial public offering raised RO 681 million ($1.77 billion) in bids, 11-fold the amount that it sought to raise, reflecting the powerful interest the enterprise has for investors.

Jaroudi was happy for the over-subscription to the IPO from investors, and commented that it was a positive indication that the bank will be successful. He mentioned that he hoped that the returned funds will be used as deposits in the bank by their new and loyal customers.

“It shows that we are well placed and there's a healthy appetite for a fully-fledged Islamic bank in Oman,” Jaroudi added.
 

Dr. Jamil el Jaroudi Named CEO of the Islamic Nizwa Bank

CEO of Bank Nizwa Dr. Jamil el Jaroudi

As soon as approval to appoint Dr. Jamil el Jaroudi as CEO of Bank Nizwa was received from the Central Bank of Oman the public announcement of the new appointment was made.

Chairman of the Bank Nizwa’s Founding Committee of Oman’s first Islamic bank Ahmed Saif al Rawahi explained the reason for the delay in announcing the appointment. "Until we had formal approval from the CBO, we couldn't go public with details of our chosen CEO. But now we can and it gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr Jamil el Jaroudi as Bank Nizwa's first CEO. Jamil brings many years of commercial experience, but even more importantly, has strong credentials in both Islamic banking and banking start-ups."

Dr. Jaroudi came to Nizwa bank from Elaf Bank in Bahrain, where he was the bank’s CEO. Among his roles during his forty years of business experience was working as senior executive with the Al Mawarid Group in Saudi Arabia and as a consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton in the UAE.

Dr. Jaroudi was educated in the United States and received an MBA from Columbia University and a PhD in finance from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University.

"I'm very excited to be a part of the team establishing Oman's first Islamic bank, Bank Nizwa. It has been my privilege to build a number of Islamic banks already in my life, and the opportunity to do this again is a great privilege.

"The Founding Committee and other team members and partners have done a great job and I look forward to leading the business into full operational launch and beyond. Our aspiration is to make Bank Nizwa not only Oman's first Islamic bank, but to also be the bank with the greatest service and customer experience, and a bank that is a part of the communities that we serve," Dr. Jaroudi said.