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Nigerian Jaiz Bank has increased its branch network to ten, with the commissioning of its Katsina branch this week by the state governor Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema. The bank now has branches in Gombe, Maiduguri, Katsina, and an additional branch in Kano, making two branches in the state. The bank has also added two branches in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The branches are located at the National Assembly and Wuse District. Commissioning the bank yesterday, the governor promised to identify and support the operations of the bank.

The Sukuk insurance policy of the Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credit and Investment (ICIEC) is ready to roll out but the corporation to date has received no applications from sovereign issuers, Dr Abdul Rahman Taha, CEO of ICIEC, said. ICIEC has had initial inquiries from Egypt and Senegal regarding the credit enhancement for Ijarah-based sovereign Sukuk issuances. A major drawback of the Sukuk Insurance Policy is that ICIEC can only guarantee up to $125 million of an issuance, because of its lack of capacity. However, it has reached agreement with the insurance majors to provide further capacity for sovereign Sukuk issuances. ICIEC is expecting more business to come from industrialized countries ECAs, and has signed agreements with Atradius, the Dutch ECA, and with Ducroire Delcredere, the Belgium ECA.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is actively involved in supporting African governments’ efforts to diversify funding through Islamic capital markets, according to Kodeidja Malle Diallo, director, group risk management department of IDB. n addition, the IDB Group and group entities are committed in supporting development projects and capital market linked Islamic fund raising efforts. IDB Group’s portfolio investments in sovereign sukuks will be purely driven by credit worthiness of issuing sovereigns. Despite the strong potential for developing Islamic capital markets in Africa, the plans are moving at a slow pace. At a political level, many countries are yet to agree on what state assets should become collateral (underlying) for a sukuk issue. Additionally, relatively low yields in conventional bonds could also emerge as a challenge for sukuk issues in these markets.

Nigeria's Jaiz Bank is currently devising a strategy, leveraging on its relationship with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which will enable it invest and help facilitate financing of the nation’s power sector. Representatives of IDB are expected in Abuja for advanced talks. $3.4 billion is currently being sort by government to bridge the yawning infrastructure gap in the electricity transmission sub-sector, considered to be the weakest link in the power value chain. Last month, minister of power, Chinedu Nebo, suggested that Nigerian banks should consider forming consortiums to provide the much needed funding. Jaiz Bank as an entity is on its own not able to finance such large ticket transactions, so leveraging on this relationship with IDB is crucial to being able to invest in the power sector.

Pakistani BankIslami more than offset the negative effect of discount rate cuts by an growth of 24 percent and 72 percent in its investments and financing, respectively. However, the costly fixed deposits drove up the bank’s mark-up expenses squeezing its spread ratio to 40 percent in 1H CY13 from 43 percent in the corresponding period of last year. Moreover, During 1H CY13, the non-performing loans (NPLs) swelled by 31 percent year on year. Resultantly, provisioning expenses mushroomed by more than four times in 1H CY13. Besides, the bank has been working aggressively to enhance its branch network which piled up bank’s non-mark-up expenses. Whether or not, BIPL enjoys the discount rate hikes will largely depend on how it works on is to improve its CASA (low-cost deposits) and curb its surging NPLs.

Kuwait Finance House KFH Wealth Management General Manager Matthew Welch stated that reinforcing the Bank's private banking and wealth management service is a key pillar of the restructuring and transformation plan that the Bank is presently implementing. Matthew noted the rising competition in the high net worth segment and that clients are increasingly discerning in selecting the institution with whom they choose to invest. He explained that KFH is keen on harnessing the investment capabilities of the wider KFH group to bring new opportunities and investment ideas for the benefit of the Bank's high net worth client base. In addition, he noted that clients now expect increased access to investment advisory and discretionary management services to help them navigate the present volatile market conditions.

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The order book for the Republic of Turkey's upcoming issue of a five-year US dollar-denominated sukuk bond has swelled to over USD2.25bn. Initial profit rate guidance for the issue remains at a spread of 325bp over mid-swaps. The offering has received a balanced response across geographies, anchored by accounts in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The 144A/Reg S issue is expected to price this week, but books could go subject at short notice. HSBC, QInvest and Standard Chartered are the leads. The issue is expected to be rated Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by Fitch.

The order book for the Republic of Turkey's upcoming issue of a five-year US dollar-denominated sukuk bond has swelled to over USD2.25bn. Initial profit rate guidance for the issue remains at a spread of 325bp over mid-swaps. The offering has received a balanced response across geographies, anchored by accounts in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The 144A/Reg S issue is expected to price this week, but books could go subject at short notice. HSBC, QInvest and Standard Chartered are the leads. The issue is expected to be rated Baa3 by Moody's and BBB- by Fitch.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will jointly organise a Conference on Islamic Finance for Asia: Development, Prospects and Inclusive Growth and a Roundtable Session for Regulators on 4 - 5 November 2013 in Manila, Philippines. The Conference will explore issues related to further developing Islamic finance, its current state of progress and challenges, while also seeking to create greater opportunities for interaction and cooperation. The Roundtable Session for Regulators will be organised with the aim to provide a unique opportunity for regulators to discuss and share their experiences, issues and challenges. Interested participants are welcome to register their attendance to the Conference at www.ifsb.org.

In September 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles. The adoption and implementation of these principles are compulsory and require Nigerian financial institutions to develop a management approach that balances environmental and social risks. Since its launch, there have been a series of initiatives and dynamism towards embedding sustainability in the Nigerian banking sector. However, sustainable banking in Nigeria could be abandoned if it is not pursued by subsequent Central Bank governors. Unfortunately, the Nigerian business environment is particularly characterised by poor governance and weak consumer voice, which will in turn have implications for the success or failure of the longevity of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles.

Abdonnaser Hemmati has been elected by the board of directors of Bank Melli Iran as the bank’s new governor, replacing Farshad Heidari. Heidari had been appointed as the governor of the bank after Mahmoud Reza Khavari, its former governor, fled to Canada after a $2.6 billion financial fraud case was uncovered in 2011. Economy minister Ali Tayyebnia is scheduled to officially install Hemmati at the post by Friday. Hemmati has served as the managing director of Sina Bank and the chairman of Iran’s Central Insurance Company.

Abu Dhabi government-owned Al Hilal Bank priced its debut $500m five-year sukuk issue, as Gulf issuers flood back to the market to take advantage of conducive market conditions. The transaction priced at par with a profit rate of 3.267 percent and a spread of 170 basis points over midswaps. The spread had tightened significantly from the initial price thoughts, released on Sunday, which had indicated a spread of 190 bps over the benchmark.

The Gulf insurance industry is growing as government spending increases but the sector is suffering from overcapacity in certain markets, which threatens to drive the smaller insurance companies into financial turmoil. Generally, the low level of penetration levels in the Gulf region has granted ample room for the insurance sector to flourish, according to an insurance report by Dubai-based Alpen Capital. The rising wealth of a young population, an increase in expatriate numbers and a growing awareness of insurance products are all helping to boost the industry. Regulators can play a role by developing guidelines to further ensure both the financial strength of insurance firms and the protection of customers.

Global Islamic Finance is expected to maintain its rapid pace of growth, strengthening its credibility as a real alternative to conventional finance. However, structural problems continue to limit its potential while its growth has made the industry more sensitive to global economic fluctuations. The contrasting fortunes shaping Islamic Finance will be the subject of a conference to be hosted by S&P in Dubai on 2 October, 2013. Prospects for the Sukuk sector will be one of the key focuses of the Conference. Another major theme is the widening sovereign adoption of Islamic Finance instruments. S&P analysts from across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America and a panel of senior Islamic Finance industry participants will speak at the S&P Islamic Finance Conference.

Al Baraka's Turkish subsidiary, Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, has concluded a syndicated Sharia compliant Murabaha financing, raising a total of $196m and EUR 175.5m. A total of 23 banks from 15 countries participated in the facility, managed by the lead arrangers Standard Chartered Bank, Noor Islamic Bank (Dubai), ABC Islamic Bank (Bahrain), Barwa Bank (Qatar) and Emirates NBD Capital (Dubai). Meanwhile, the Bahrain All-Share Index slipped 0.20% to 1,194.88 points on Sunday. Al Baraka Banking Group closed even at $0.725.

Bank Dhofar, has announced the resignation of its chief executive Anthony Mahoney for personal reasons, effective September 26. The Omani lender has appointed Abdul Omar Al-Ojaili as its acting chief executive. Bank Dhofar is planning to merge with Bank Sohar with a view to creating Oman’s second-largest bank. The new entity would have total assets worth 4.1 billion rials ($10.7 billion), according to quarterly financial statements, and a market capitalisation of around $1.8 billion. Bank Dhofar shares have risen 14 per cent year-to-date.

Managing director of the Iran's Melli Bank, Farshad Heydari has been removed from his position by the Bank's Association. The embezzlement case originally started back in 2007 by Amir Mansour Arya Investment Company and progressed in 2010, after some Iranian major banks, including Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, issued loans for the company.

Abu Dhabi government-owned Al Hilal Bank will price its debut Islamic bond offering on Tuesday, subject to market conditions, especially the shutdown of the U.S. government. Books are now open for the transaction, with commitments from investors already totalling $2.75 billion. The five-year sukuk will be of benchmark size - traditionally understood to be worth at least $500 million - with initial price guidance set at 190 basis points over midswaps. Al Hilal is due to conclude meetings with fixed-income investors on Monday in London. Citigroup, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered are arranging the roadshows, along with Al Hilal itself.

Nova Resources Limited has agreed to sell its entire stake in European Islamic Investment Bank to Pearce Global Investments Limited, for a total consideration of GBP663,892. The Bermuda-based company said that the consideration is to be paid by the transfer of warrants over 9.0 million shares in Tricor PLC, the AIM-list investment company focussed on the natural resources sector. Nova said that the shares can be exercised at its discretion by the end of 2017, at an exercise prices of 0.5p, although it intends to retain the warrants for the foreseeable future. Nova said the warrants are valued at 7.38p apiece, representing a premium on Tricor's current share price of 6.50p at the time of the agreement.