IslamicFinance.de

After a ranking of the top 50 banks in the Middle East by assets for the period H1 2011 it became clear that Saudi banks are leaders in profitability. Throughout the period they have been maintaining strong asset quality and adapting adequate lending practices and underwriting standards. As the main reason for the success of Saudi banks the traditional conservative fiscal polices together with the billion-dollar government budget are pointed out.

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It is a common opinion that Africa offers excellent opportunities for the global development and expansion of Islamic finance. The bank's managing director, Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha Bintube, explained that the bank has made steady progress regarding number of accounts opened, number of deposits, and numbers of proposals that received on a daily basis. The bank offers various products in the field of retail such as Jaiz Home Finance, Jaiz Auto Finance, Jaiz Home Appliance Finance etc. After the approval of the shareholders, the bank plans to increase its capital base from N7bn to N12bn.

More on: http://www.theislamicglobe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article...

The world economy has not changed much in the last at least 20 years. Just as Bill Clinton in 1992, Barack Obama faced the issue of economy in 2008 and does so in 2012 without the international economic situation being much improved. The reason for that are not the multiple shocks and crises economy went through themselves but rather the flaws of the conventional banking system. During the first two years of the last crisis over 200 US lenders experiences serious crashes. Experst support the opinion that as long as the system is based on greed instead of need, the situation will hardly change.

More on: http://gulfnews.com/business/features/greed-based-lending-should-be-repl...

Nigaria's financial minister, Dr. Yerima Ngama, stated that it was necessary to assure greater sensitisation to create better awareness on Islamic banking option in the country. Thus, people would gain some understanding about the operation principles of the system. The minister also pointed out that Islamic financing was not addressed to Muslims only and that therefore the goal is to carry non-Muslims along.

More on: http://allafrica.com/stories/201209190982.html

Alhaji Mohammed Mustapha Bintube, the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, stated that even though the bank started on a low key, it has been making steady progress in terms of number of accounts opened, deposits, and numbers of proposals received every day. Of course, there are some challenges the bank is facing which it intends to adress by relying on several publicity initiatives. The goal of these initiatives is to teach Nigerian people confidence about the new kind of banking model.

More on: http://allafrica.com/stories/201209210292.html

The products Bank Muamalat is planning to launch are intended to be competitive not only in terms of returns, but also in terms of corporate social responsibility. The bank wants to concentrate on products it can channel towards corporate social responsibility, what they call ethical banking. The reason therefor is that Islamic banking is pereived to be ethical banking in its core and Bank Muamalat believs there is a market for such products.

More on: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/15773/bank-muamalat-to-issue-more-...

At a recent press conference, Ridge Islamic Capital announced its official inauguration and launch of its activities in the Egyptian market. The company plays the role of a moderate solution between modern investment banking and traditional Sharia compliant commercial banking. The launch will be a milestone in providing Sharia compliant solutions in the region and is expected to raise the company's revenues and its investors and shareholders' value.

More on: http://www.ameinfo.com/ridge-islamic-capital-announces-official-launch-3...

Offers for strategic partnerships with foreign investors in plantation projects have been put up by Indonesian Islamic banks among which Bank Mandiri. This way, the Islamic banking platform shall be strengthened. Loan syndication for the purpose of financing medium and large scale projects is proposed. This kind of cooperation would result in an increase in the efficiency and better risk management as well as stronger Islamic banking.

More on: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120919215900/Art...

In an announcement by National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) its plans to seek an Islamic banking licence in Malaysia were revealed. This licence is to meet the demand for Shari'ah-compliant financing. After starting non-Islamic commercial banking operations, the company endeavours further expansion. According to CEO of National Bank of Abu Dhabi Malaysia Bhd, Leong See Meng, good opportunities exist for operations abroad.

Regulators changed the rules on non Islamic loans for the purchase of motor vehicles like cars and motorcycles in favour of Islamic loans. As a result, consumer-finance companies in Indonesia increasingly consider Shariah-compliant lending. PT Adira Dinamika Multi Finance, which recently started Shariah-compliant business, expects for it to make up 20% of its overall operations. Other Shariah lenders clain that Islamic loans will grow as fast as 30% a year in the near future.

Looking for expansion opportunities, Noor Islamic Bank focuses on South East Asia as a strong growth market. While the development of global lending markets remains uncertain, Asian countries have growing needs in the areas of infrastructure and development combined with solid economic growth. The goal of Noor Islamic Bank is to cooperate with already establishedd financial institutions in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. This way the gap in funding, which was caused by the shrinkage of the global liquidity pool, shall be bridged.

The Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) - Kazi Abdul Muktadir - announced that the bank is working on a new five-year (2013-17) strategic plan for Islamic banking industry. This plan shall define an overall direction for the Islamic banking industry. According to Mr. Muktadir, an increase in Islamic finance's share in the banking system is very likely and can reach up to 15% in the five years to follow.

Profitability and asset growth in the GCC banking market have grown significantly since last year. This development is due to a favourable regional macroeconomic environment as well as reduced cost of risk. Since the facts correspond with A.T. Kearney's banking outlook from 2011, optimistic attitudes though with some cautiosness return. Markable differences in the growth rate and profitability of the UAE countries over the last year are discussed.

The conventional private equity (PE) industry's taking advantage of excessive cheap debt before the global financial crisis in 2008 has a negative effect when the markets collapsed. In contrast, Islamic PE was able to avoid this situation by relying on restrictions on taking conventional forms of leverage. According to Qatar Finance Centre Authority's director, Yousuf Al-Jaida, there is a strong correlation between Islamic PE and the real economy. The huge difference between the both tyes of PE is that Islamic PE is based on Shariah principles which excludes businesses such as breweries, casinos, riba-based banks and pig farms.

The Association of Islamic Scholars (ASAS) in Kuala Lumpur plans to start a shariah board accreditation process. The move fill follow a points-based system, where the points are earned by Islamic scholars who participate in training cources offered by regulatory bodies. Shariah scholars will be required to sign a voluntary code of ethics and take a corresponding test. The scholars, however believe that this move is bound to fail. It is possible that Islamic finance advisors will not accept the notion of being accredited since the majority of them offer theit services without it.

According to plan the Turkish investment fund Kuveyt Turk will open the first Islamic bank in Germany this October. They sustain the hopes to overcome the euro crisis and to profit from successful Islamic banking. In contrast with highly speculative financial management which caused the ongoing euro crisis, the Islamic bank shall offer only transactions backed by tangible assets.

According to KPMG Oman, conventional banks in Oman that do not offer any Islamic banking services will face the threat to lose numerous customers which will prefer a bank that offers Shari'ah-compliant financial services. Khalid Yousaf, Director of Islamic Finance Advisory Services, KPMG Oman, claims that opening an Islamic window operation is a safe strategy. As a reason he points out that it requires less capital while, at the same time, sharing a common cost base with additional business.

A team from Bankable Frontier Associates started a project to study the effect of interoperability in retail payments on the outcome of financial inclusion in Pakistan. The target they set was 100 million Pakistanis to be financially included electronically by 2020. Now the final report is ready and available for the public. Specific ideas for the Pakistani market are provided in the report. These are intended to be implemented in workshops with Pakistan industry. Moreover, the report stresses on the importance of interoperability and the reasons for that as wel as on how people should think about it from a policy and market development perspective and how it should be measured.

An announcement of Gatehouse Bank plc states that the bank has a strong set of interim results for the first six months of 2012. Profit projections have been exceeded by almost 10% with a total of more than $3.2 million (GBP 2.1 million). This shows that the bank’s business and operating model is maturing out of its start-up phase. The bank is also close to meeting its 2012 financial plan, since the income for the same period is £6,121k in comparison with £1,719k for the comparative period - a 250% increase. Thus, substantial growth and wealth preservation on behalf of its investors is delivered.

Financial Times Deutschland reports that Kuveyt Tuerk will open the first sharia compliant banking branch in Germany. The bank's headquarters will be in Frankfurt. Other branches are to be opened in other cities with a high density of Muslim inhabitants, according to FTD.