Cementing its position as one of Oman’s most benevolent banking institutions, Bank Sohar has been named the ‘Best Corporate Social Responsibility Bank Oman 2013’ by renowned UK based Global Banking & Finance Review.

Commenting on winning the prestigious award, Dr. Mohamed Abdulaziz Kalmoor, CEO of Bank Sohar said, “Winning this award is an indication of the distinguished record that we have achieved in CSR within the country. Supporting economic development and achieving the sustainable social development objectives encompasses every aspect of our bank’s strategic perspective. This particular award sheds light on the Bank’s patronage of various causes during previous year and the current, whether related to education, youth, health or environment.”

He further added, “Since our inception, we have consistently made meaningful contributions towards the wellbeing of the local community at different levels and will continue to do so through our multi-faceted program of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Furthermore, we strongly believe in contributing towards a better society by directly taking responsibility.”

Operating in a country such as Oman, that has build a sustainable framework for the future based on the core pillars of economic, social, human and environmental development, Bank Sohar has also adopted these as core values of its operational philosophy that in turn drives the Bank’s activities. As such the bank continues to support a wide range of organisations both directly and indirectly, while at the same time addressing some of the core issues that impact the wellbeing of the community – namely road safety.

So far this year, the bank has supported a broad range of organisations including Creative Centre for Rehabilitation, Al Amal School for the Deaf, Oman Association for the Disabled, Association for the Welfare of the Handicapped Children & its Autism Centre and Al Noor Association for the Blind. Generous contributions by Bank Sohar facilitate the ongoing operations of these centres, and provides them with a helping hand in acquiring essential equipment that cater to the needs of the beneficiaries. Furthermore, the bank, together with Dar al Atta, set up a tent during the holy month of Ramadan that provided Iftar to hundreds of people every day. Bank Sohar plans to continue in its steadfast quest of philanthropy with many more donations and charitable events lined up for the current year.

In addition to providing donations and in response to the country’s long standing issues with road safety, the bank had also officially launched a year-long “Be Safe…Be Responsible” road safety campaign in association with the Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA) in February and has since headed numerous initiatives under its banner with more planned till the end of the year. This also included a generous donation to ORSA in order to assist them in creating and raising awareness.

This latest award was presented to the bank after a thorough study and review of the prominent milestones achieved by the bank in social responsibility over the past year. This award is just the latest feather in Bank Sohar’s corporate cap. This year alone Bank Sohar has received numerous prestigious foreign, regional and local awards and accolades in acknowledgement of its commitment to meet the customers banking needs and exceed their expectations through raising the industry benchmark of service excellence. Bank Sohar recently won the distinguished ‘Golden Order of Merit in the field of prudent management & the best supportive bank for tourism projects in the Arab world’ from the Lebanon based Tatweej Academy, the award for the ‘Fastest Growing Bank In Oman’ at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2013 organised by the UAE based CPI Financial, ‘The Golden Award for Quality & Business Prestige’ from the French based Otherways Management & Consulting Association, and one of the ’Top Five Large Corporate Enterprises in Oman’ Award from Alam Al Iktisad Wal A’mal (AIWA), while Dr. Mohamed Abdulaziz Kalmoor won the ‘CEO of the Year 2013’ award at the same ceremony. Winning these prestigious awards stands as a testament to the bank’s commitment towards banking excellence.

Global Banking and Finance Review Awards were created to recognise companies of all sizes that are prominent in particular areas of expertise and excellence within the global financial community. The awards are known throughout the global banking and financial community. They reflect the innovation, achievement, strategy, progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the financial sector.