The Big Numbers Race: Despite Sohar’s Rapid Growth, Muscat Maintains Sole Leadership of Oman’s Banking Sector

The Omani banking sector is witnessing intensifying competition among major banks, as each institution seeks to strengthen its market share and expand its business base within a relatively stable banking environment characterized by high levels of regulation and supervision.

Despite maintaining its position as the largest bank in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of size, outreach, and profitability, Bank Muscat continues to dominate the market, Meanwhile, Sohar International has increasingly established itself as one of the fastest-growing banks in the Omani market, benefiting from a strong expansion pace that has been clearly reflected across various financial and operational indicators in recent years.

According to 2025 data, Bank Muscat ranked as the leading bank in the Omani banking sector, while Sohar International came in second place. In terms of balance sheet size, Bank Muscat recorded total assets of approximately 39.30 billion dollars by the end of 2025, compared to 23.71 billion dollars for Sohar International during the same period.

Bank Muscat also maintained its lead in deposits, reaching 22.71 billion dollars by the end of 2025, versus 17.73 billion dollars for Sohar International.

On the lending side, Bank Muscat continued to outperform, with net financing reaching approximately 23.59 billion dollars by the end of 2025, compared to 14.97 billion dollars for Sohar International during the same year.

However, despite Bank Muscat’s clear advantage in scale, an analysis of growth trends over the last three years (specifically from 2022 to 2025) reveals a remarkable acceleration in Sohar International’s expansion pace, The bank recorded total asset growth of 121%, compared to only 18.1% for Bank Muscat over the same period.

This strong performance contributed to narrowing the asset gap between the two banks to approximately 15.59 billion dollars by the end of 2025, compared to a gap of 22.54 billion dollars at the end of 2022, reflecting Sohar International’s success in accelerating its pace toward catching up with the market leader.

The impact of Sohar International’s strong growth appears even more evident in deposits, where the bank recorded total growth of 166.7% over the last three years, compared to 17.7% for Bank Muscat during the same period, This helped reduce the deposit gap between the two institutions to 4.97 billion dollars by the end of 2025, down from 12.65 billion dollars at the end of 2022.

Regarding financing activity, Sohar International recorded total growth of approximately 97.1% over the past three years, compared to 13.7% for Bank Muscat during the same timeframe, As a result, the financing gap narrowed to 8.62 billion dollars by the end of 2025, compared to 13.15 billion dollars in 2022.

In terms of profitability, Bank Muscat continued to reinforce its operational superiority, generating net profits of 663.73 million dollars in 2025, alongside a return on assets «ROA» of 1.76% and a return on equity «ROE» of 10.15%.

By comparison, Sohar International posted net profits of 260.95 million dollars in 2025, while recording an ROA of 1.22% and an ROE of 9.79%, reflecting the continued profitability gap in favor of Bank Muscat despite Sohar International’s notable performance improvements.

Regarding capital strength, Bank Muscat maintained a relatively larger capital base, with shareholders’ equity reaching approximately 1.95 billion dollars by the end of 2025, compared to 1.82 billion dollars for Sohar International during the same period.

From an operational perspective, Bank Muscat manages an extensive network of 198 domestic branches, in addition to a branch in Riyadh and representative offices in Dubai, Singapore, and Iran, supported by approximately 4,462 employees as of the end of 2025.

In contrast, Sohar International operates 55 commercial banking branches and 20 Islamic banking branches across Oman, supported by approximately 1,715 employees. This reflects a clear difference in business models between the two banks: while Bank Muscat relies on broad geographic and operational expansion supported by a massive business base, Sohar International adopts a leaner and more efficiency-driven expansion model.

Based on the above data, Bank Muscat continues to consolidate its dominance over the Omani banking sector, supported by its substantial scale, strong profitability, and broad operational footprint. At the same time, Sohar International is steadily positioning itself as the market’s leading emerging challenger, backed by exceptional growth momentum in recent years.

As the gap between the two banks continues to narrow across key indicators, competition is no longer limited to maintaining traditional rankings. Instead, it increasingly reflects a gradual shift in the balance of power within Oman’s banking sector—one that may pave the way for a reshaping of banking leadership in the Sultanate over the coming years.