Oman-based Bank Nizwa has reduced its net losses in 2014 by 37 per cent compared to the previous year as the bank’s revenues begin to rise.

Losses declined from OR12.3m to reach OR7.7m at the end of 2014, according the bank’s income statement.

The sharia-compliant Omani bank has reported gross revenue growth of 163 per cent in 2014 compared to the 2013 figures, with revenue rising to OR7.6m from OR2.9m.

The bank’s financing portfolio reached OR137.3m, an increase of 343 per cent.

Deposit volumes rose by 234 per cent to OR93.7m. The bank’s total assets reached OR253m, a 29 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

Bank Nizwa is Oman’s first fully fledged Islamic bank, having opened on 10 January 2013 and receiving its banking licence from the Central Bank of Oman in late 2012.

The lender was set up after the government decided to allow the provision of sharia-compliant financial services. Previously, Oman was the only GCC country without dedicated Islamic finance banks.