Oman’s Islamic Banking Assets Hit OMR9.8 Billion in 2026

Oman’s Islamic banking sector has grown to OMR9.8 billion in total assets, according to the latest Central Bank of Oman figures reported by Times of Oman in 2026, extending a run of double-digit annual growth for Sharia-compliant lenders and windows across the sultanate’s banking system.

That expansion is pulling Sharia-compliant finance toward the center of the sultanate’s banking system. Islamic banks and windows have climbed toward a 20 percent share of total banking assets, and Fitch Ratings projects Oman’s wider Islamic finance industry could approach $45 billion in 2026, according to an assessment reported by Oman Observer.

A Fast-Growing Series

The OMR9.8 billion figure is the newest point in a Central Bank of Oman data series that Times of Oman has tracked through 2025 and into 2026. By the end of July 2025, combined assets of Islamic banks and Islamic windows stood at about OMR9.1 billion, equal to 19.7 percent of total banking sector assets and up 16.8 percent year over year, Times of Oman reported in October 2025, citing Central Bank of Oman data. Financing extended by Islamic banks and windows rose 12.5 percent to OMR7.2 billion over the same period, while deposits climbed 16.1 percent to roughly OMR7.2 billion.

As The Halal Times has previously reported, Islamic lenders have been steadily taking share from conventional banks in the sultanate for several years, a rise the publication has also followed through the country’s Islamic banking sector gatherings.

Market Share Nearing a Fifth

Independent reporting corroborates the trajectory. Arab News, citing Central Bank of Oman data, put Islamic banking assets at about 9.2 billion Omani rials, or $23.9 billion, by the end of October 2025, equal to 19.5 percent of total banking system assets and a 10.8 percent increase from a year earlier. Islamic bank deposits grew 11.9 percent to roughly 7.3 billion rials and Islamic financing rose 10.4 percent to about 7.4 billion rials over the same period, according to Arab News.

A Fitch Ratings assessment, reported by Oman Observer, found the market share of Islamic banks and windows had risen to about 20 percent of banking sector assets by the end of November 2025, up from 19.2 percent a year earlier, with total assets of roughly $24.1 billion. Gulf Daily News separately reported Oman’s Islamic banking assets rising to $24 billion, consistent with the same year-end figures. The share hasn’t crossed the 20 percent line in any single dated report yet, but each successive reading points in the same direction.

Fitch Sees a $45 Billion Industry in 2026

Zooming out from bank balance sheets to the broader Islamic finance industry, Fitch estimates Oman’s Islamic finance sector reached about $36 billion at the end of 2025 and could approach $45 billion in 2026 on expected double-digit growth, according to the assessment reported by Oman Observer. Islamic banking makes up roughly two-thirds of that industry, with outstanding sukuk accounting for about 32 percent and takaful and Islamic asset management combining for roughly 2.5 percent, per the same Fitch assessment.

The structure of Oman’s Islamic banking is unusual within the Gulf: Islamic windows operated by six conventional banks hold more than 60 percent of Islamic banking assets, outweighing the sultanate’s dedicated Islamic banks, Oman Observer reported. That doesn’t mirror the fully licensed, standalone model that dominates in neighboring Bahrain, a larger Gulf hub whose Islamic finance growth The Halal Times has reported on separately.

Sukuk, Takaful and New Institutions

Fitch-rated Omani sukuk outstanding stood at $6.5 billion at the end of 2025, with 88 percent rated “BBB-” and 12 percent rated “BB+,” according to the Oman Observer report. Takaful accounted for an 18 percent share of gross direct insurance premiums at the end of 2024, per the same assessment. On the institutional side, the Central Bank of Oman has launched an electronic system for Sharia-compliant liquidity management, and the Financial Services Authority established a Supreme Sharia Supervisory Authority in 2025, Oman Observer reported. Oman Electricity Transmission Company issued the country’s first green sukuk, rated “BB+,” in 2025, and the sultanate’s first Islamic commercial paper was also issued that year.

Whether Oman’s Islamic finance industry closes 2026 nearer $40 billion or the full $45 billion Fitch has flagged will depend on financing growth staying in double digits through the second half of the year. The next Central Bank of Oman release will show whether the OMR9.8 billion asset base keeps climbing at the pace it set through 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is Oman’s Islamic banking sector in 2026?
Total assets of Oman’s Islamic banks and windows reached OMR9.8 billion, according to Central Bank of Oman data reported by Times of Oman in 2026, up from about OMR9.1 billion at the end of July 2025.

What share of Oman’s banking assets is Islamic?
A Fitch Ratings assessment, reported by Oman Observer, found Islamic banks and windows held about 20 percent of Oman’s banking sector assets by the end of November 2025, up from 19.2 percent a year earlier.

How large could Oman’s Islamic finance industry become in 2026?
Fitch Ratings estimates Oman’s Islamic finance industry, spanning banking, sukuk, and takaful, could approach $45 billion in 2026 after reaching about $36 billion at the end of 2025, according to the assessment reported by Oman Observer.

Do Islamic windows or standalone Islamic banks dominate in Oman?
Islamic windows run by six conventional Omani banks hold more than 60 percent of the sultanate’s Islamic banking assets, according to Oman Observer’s reporting of a Fitch Ratings assessment, outweighing Oman’s dedicated Islamic banks.

How much Fitch-rated sukuk does Oman have outstanding?
Fitch-rated Omani sukuk outstanding totaled $6.5 billion at the end of 2025, with 88 percent rated “BBB-” and 12 percent rated “BB+,” per the Fitch assessment reported by Oman Observer.