I received a book titled Economic Development from the Oman Institute of Bankers during my study period in 1996; it was one of the best books I received during my time there.

The institute has already changed its name to College of Banking and Financial Studies. When I re-visit this book and turn its pages, I think of nothing but economics. Economics is an important subject and a means of resolving issues of any country’s economy.

Is the banking sector a part of the economy? If that’s true, then all bankers should also become economists. Bankers who lack a grasp of how banks make money and their role within the economy of a country should become educated on those topics.

It’s great that the bank has that huge ‘deposit,’ but what does that deposit actually mean in the economic sense?
Another good strategy is to lend a company a ‘corporate loan’ against an attractive return, but what does that mean in terms of economics? In order to serve the country’s banks and economy, such knowledge must be present.

It is undeniable that banks play an important role in boosting the economy of a country by issuing loans to factories for micro and megaprojects. In this case, the banker should take the time to really understand the project cycle.

After finding a fault in my car, I wanted to have it fixed at the garage in the industrial area, in Al Maabela. This market is extremely efficient with a lot of small cash as they don’t accept debit or credit cards. This phenomenon reminded me of the industrial revolution, or the transition from traditional manufacturing processes to new ones in Britain, continental Europe, and the United States between about 1760 and somewhere between 1820 and 1840.

There were no current technologies like (Point of Sales) POS or E-banking in use by these labourers and technicians, in most of the shops in Al Maabela industrial area.

A very few of them understand e-banking. They simply collect cash during their business hours and deposit the same in the bank through ATM, in the evening.

This is all part of economic activity, where bankers should understand that from such activities, a country’s economy will either rise or fall.

Big malls are a good place to see new products and buy them. Bankers need to think like an economist, and to know the wisdom behind building such big malls in the country.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of TAS and TAS does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.