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Muscat: The net profits of banks listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) rose by 26.2 per cent to OMR118.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to OMR93.8 million in the same period last year.
The preliminary financial results announced by the banks on the Muscat Stock Exchange website indicated an increase in the profits of all banks. Bank Muscat recorded the highest profit at OMR51.3 million, an increase of 6.4 per cent over the profits recorded by the bank in the first quarter of last year amounting to OMR48.2 million. The National Bank of Oman (NBO) was able to raise its net profits to OMR14.3 million, compared to OMR10.2 million in the first quarter of 2022 and Sohar International Bank ranked third, recording net profits of about OMR13.3 million, compared to ROOMR8.5 million in the first quarter of 2022.
HSBC Bank Oman recorded a growth of about 126 per cent after its net profits increased from OMR5.4 million to OMR12.2 million and the net profit of Oman Arab Bank (OAB) increased from OMR3.5 million to OMR5.5 million and Bank Nizwa recorded an increase of 5.7 per cent, bringing its net profit in the first quarter of this year to OMR3.5 million compared to OMR3.3 million in the same period last year.
Banks in Oman witnessed growth in most of their financial indicators, and preliminary data indicated that the total assets of the eight banks listed on the stock exchange increased at the end of March 2023 to OMR37.60 billion, compared to OMR36.10 billion at the end of March of 2022, recording an increase of 4 per cent.
Bank Muscat has the highest volume of assets at OMR13.79 billion, while Sohar International Bank had assets of OMR4.63 billion. Bank Dhofar had assets amounting to OMR4.62 billion and the National Bank of Oman (NBO) had assets of OMR4.4 billion, and Oman Arab Bank (OAB) had assets of OMR3.8 billion.