HSBC merges Oman unit with local lender

HSBC is to merge its business in Oman with Oman Bank and hold a majority stake in the enlarged operation, Europe's biggest bank said on Wednesday. HSBC will hold 51 percent of the group, to be named HSBC Bank Oman SOAG. OIB is Oman's fifth-largest bank, with the second-largest branch network in the country and gross assets of $3.2 billion.
"It is rare to get the opportunity to create a bank of such scale in a key target market," Simon Cooper, chief executive of HSBC Middle East and North Africa, told a conference call for reporters.