Bank Dhofar Considers Merger to Create $10 Billion Omani Lender - Bloomberg

Bank Dhofar Considers Merger to Create $10 Billion Omani Lender - Bloomberg:

"Bank Dhofar SAOG is exploring the possibility of combining with its smaller competitor Bank Sohar as it seeks to create the second-biggest Omani lender with about $10 billion in assets. The banks’ shares climbed.
The board at its meeting yesterday “expressed interest and resolved to commence discussion with Bank Sohar to explore the possibility of merger between the two banks,” Bank Dhofar said in a statement posted on Muscat stock exchange, without giving further details. The proposal is subject to interest of Bank Sohar, due diligence and regulatory approvals, it said.
The possible merger follows HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s biggest bank, merging its Omani operations last year with Oman International Bank SAOG to create a lender with about $6 billion in assets. HSBC Bank Oman SAOG is currently third-biggest lender by assets after BankMuscat SAOG, which had $21 billion in assets at the end of last year, and National Bank of Oman SAOG."

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