CBO workshop focuses on Bank Deposits Insurance Scheme

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO), as the administrator of the Bank Deposits Insurance Scheme (BDIS), yesterday conducted a presentation to the undergraduate students of the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) and College of Banking and Financial Studies (CBFS) December 12, 2017.

The BDIS, which came into operation in 1995 through a Royal Decree is part of the “Financial Safety Net” and contributes to ensuring the stability of the financial sector in adverse situations. It is provided free of charge to depositors and shifts the burden of reimbursement in case of a Bank(s) failure from the Government to an independent system.

The key objectives of BDIS are: to provide comprehensive insurance coverage on specific deposits with banks operating in the Sultanate to encourage public savings; to boost and enhance the confidence of the public in the financial soundness of the banking system in Oman; and to minimise the impact of traditional risks in the operations of the banking system.

The BDIS Administration Committee planned and launched a two pronged Public Awareness Campaign, in order to educate the depositors as well as the general public about the presence and services of BDIS in 2012.

In the first phase, the entire Banking Community was trained under the patronage of CBO. It was essential that as the first line of contact, the Banks’ employees were well-versed about BDIS. Once the BDIS Committee was satisfied the second phase was conducted via a paper insert in both Arabic and English. In addition there have been other methods of spreading knowledge on BDIS, such as a booklet, brochures, BDIS stickers, desk calendars, and so on.

BDIS Committee believes that more efforts are required to ensure top-of-the mind recall of the message, especially among the depositors and general public. In order to spread the message among the young and future decision-makers, presentations will be conducted among the leading higher education institutes — the first of which was at SQU the flagship university of the Sultanate.

The BDIS Committee believes in inculcating the savings habit among the young will benefit the country in future and the knowledge about BDIS and its benefits to depositors is a step in the right direction, especially as these young students will have the capacity to understand and take the message to their homes and neighbours.