CBO Board discusses impact of COVID-19 pandemic on economy

Muscat: The implications of the fall in the oil prices and the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on the financial and monetary sector in during the first quarter of 2020 was discussed at the Central Bank of Oman's second Board of Governors' meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting, which was held at the CBO Headquarters in Muttrah Business District area, was chaired by Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi, Deputy Chairman of the CBO Board of Governors.
Accordingly, the board commended the measures taken by the CBO to mitigate the adverse impact brought about by the current situation on the performance of the financial and other economic sectors, including individuals and SMEs.
The board also reviewed a report on the prospects and challenges of Omani economy including the performance of the banking sector.
It commended CBO for its effective oversight policies and expressed satisfaction with the performance of the banking sector's indicators and the position of the foreign exchange reserves, that enhance the stability of OMR currency and supports the fixed exchange rate.
During the meeting, the board's members also reviewed several other proposals submitted by the executive management, which included a proposal on the Regulatory Sandbox Project for Financial Technology, considered to be one of the fundamental elements for launching financial technology services and for the onset of the digital economy in the country.
The FinTech Regulatory Sandbox provides a live testing environment enabling innovative FinTech developers to evaluate their initiatives on a live and real-time basis.
Furthermore, the board took stock of the progress made by Oman Credit and Financial Information Center (OCFIC - Mala’a) thus far.
The board also held discussions on a host of other topics that were listed on its meeting's agenda and took appropriate decisions accordingly.