IslamicFinance.de

The resignation if Dr Ayoub follows his appointment as Assistant Secretary General with the Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based Islamic Financial Services Board. His new role as a regulator in the IFSB requires him to avoid any direct and official association with a regulated entity.

Seattle-based Falah Capital is preparing to launch an Islamic exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks large U.S. stocks, the latest sharia-compliant product in a market. The ETF will be advised by Exchange Traded Concepts and Mellon Capital Management, with Bahrain-based Shariyah Review Bureau acting as sharia advisor, according to a filing with the SEC.

The $1.6 billion restructuring of Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank B.S.C. has a significance that extends far beyond simply returning value to its creditors. Arcapita was established in 1996 as the world's first Islamic investment bank. This means it had to comply with principles set out by Islamic law. The Chapter 11 restructuring of Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank, led by Gibson Dunn, saw U.S. bankruptcy courts faced for the first time with the world of Shariah law.

The Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has assigned international scale credit ratings to Gulf Finance House (GFH) at 'BB' (Double B) in the medium to long-term and at 'B' (Single B) in the short-term. On the national scale, ratings have been assessed at BB+/B (Double B Plus / Single B). The rating outlook for the Bank has been assessed as 'Positive'. IIRA has assessed the rating outlook for the institution as 'Positive' that hinges on developing a steady stream of core revenues and sustaining improvements to capital structure. The fiduciary score has been assessed in the range of '61-65'. Certain weaknesses of the bank's governance framework have been identified that require to be addressed.

For the second year in a row, Bahrain has been named the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries leading Islamic finance market and second out of 92 countries worldwide, according to the ICD-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI). Bahrain was also ranked as having the best governance in Islamic finance in the world, with the report praising the well-established regulatory framework covering all sectors, and high levels of disclosure. The IFDI is a measure of five components (including quantitative development, governance, corporate social responsibility, knowledge and awareness).

Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and even London aspire to be hubs for Islamic finance, but Bahrain still has a strong and respected role in this sector. The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation has put in place sound standards for a global liquidity management platform. There have been significant developments, like the successful restructuring of a number of Islamic wholesale and retail banks, including Venture Capital Bank, GFH, Bank Alkhair and Bahrain Islamic Bank, which were badly affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. In the coming years, more momentum in the area of real estate funds is expected to take place.

The Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed the ratings of Bahrain-based ABC Islamic Bank at A+/A-1 on the national scale (long-term and short-term respectively), and A-/A-2 on the international scale with a 'Stable' outlook. The ratings agency said the overall fiduciary score of the bank has been assessed to be in the range of '76'“80' and indicates a well developed governance structure and strong fiduciary capacity, wherein rights of various stakeholders are well-protected. As the bank's business prospects continue to improve, enhancement in earnings is likely to be sustainable, the IIRA said. The bank's balance sheet has remained strong, sustained by sound capitalisation related indicators, it added.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to establish a presence in Bahrain. No details were given on the timeframe to start operations or what type of licence was being sought. Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, announced the plans during a visit by bank officials to the Gulf state. The move would help rekindle Bahrain’s Islamic banking sector, which includes six retail banks and 18 wholesale banks. As of June, they held a combined $24.6 billion in assets, a 5.2 per cent drop from a year earlier. Turkey Finans is one of four Islamic banks in Turkey, and has a predominant focus on corporate banking.

The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has appointed a new secretary-general. Saudi Arabian national Hamed Hassan Merah has been chosen for the post, replacing Khaled Al Fakih, who left the organisation in May after two and a half years in charge. Merah most recently worked with Solidarity Saudi Takaful Company and before that with Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment. Established in 1990, AAOIFI issues guidelines that are followed wholly or in part by Islamic financial institutions around the world. But as Islamic banking has grown globally over the last several years, other standard-setting bodies have become increasingly active and influential.

Bahrain-based Ibdar Bank has announced the appointment of Mr. Basel Al-Haj-Issa as the Bank's new Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 1 September 2014. Mr. Al-haj-Issa is a senior banker with over 20 years of international exposure in Islamic Investment and Commercial Banking in the GCC and MENA, CIS and South East Asia. Prior to joining Ibdar Bank, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Saba Islamic Bank - Republic of Yemen. Prior to that, he was the Director of Financial Institutions Development Dept. at the ICD - managing a portfolio of 25 financial institutions in over 20 countries. Mr. Al-Haj-Issa holds a Master degree in Business Administration and Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) from Marshall University, USA.

For the second year in a row, Bahrain has been named the GCC's leading Islamic finance market and second out of 92 countries worldwide. This is according to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI). As well as being highly-ranked in terms of the kingdom's commitment to research and training and local awareness of the industry, Bahrain was also ranked as having the best governance in Islamic finance in the world. The report praises the well-established regulatory framework covering all sectors, and high levels of disclosure. The IFDI is a measure of five key components to evaluate Islamic finance in 92 countries - quantitative development, governance, corporate social responsibility, knowledge and awareness.

The launch of "Murabaha" through equities programme by the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has moved closer to implementation with the exchange appointing Dr Shaikh Osama Mohammed Bahar as its Sharia adviser. His scope of work will include the review and approval of all Sharia-compliant securities, funds, and other investment instruments. The role will also include the review of all Sharia-based products to ensure compliance with underlying Sharia principles. In addition, he will be responsible for the issuance of Sharia statements (fatwa) with regards to Sharia-compliant securities listed on the bourse, and supervising its operations to ensure their compliance with underlying Sharia principles. BHB's strategy aims at enhancing market liquidity, and providing a wider range of products and solutions.

Takaud, the Bahrain-based specialist savings and pensions provider for the MENA region, has announced the appointment of an experienced sales management team, which will be based in Bahrain. The new appointments include Loay Ragheb as Chief Distribution Officer and Jason Reeves and Nabil Karameh both as Senior Managers responsible for regional distribution. Eric Van Biesen, Acting Chief Executive Officer TAKAUD, said, that the new appointments underpin the company's focus on expanding direct and third party distribution channels (banks, financial intermediaries, professional consultants), in order to support the on-going rollout of innovative savings and pension solutions for both Retail and Corporate clients across the region.

Capital Intelligence (CI), has raised Gulf Finance House's (GFH) Long-Term Rating to 'BB' from 'BB-' and affirmed the Short-Term Rating at 'B'. The Outlook for GFH's ratings reverts to 'Stable' from 'Positive' following the rating action. The ratings reflect the recent successful refinancing and resultant extended debt repayment period. Also supporting the ratings is the significant reduction in leverage in recent years and the moderately improved liquidity position. The factors constraining GFH's ratings are the forced debt restructuring a few years ago, an encumbered asset base, and the small balance sheet coupled with single name and sector concentrations. Also constraining the ratings is the still challenging investment environment.

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) said on Wednesday that it had signed to obtain a $105 million, five-year Islamic credit facility from Kuwait Finance House, which would help GFH redeem two syndicated debt facilities and allow the release of some major GFH assets. GFH, which suffered heavily in the wake of the global financial crisis and required multiple debt restructurings, said Kuwait Finance House would have an option to convert its outstanding debt into GFH shares. It did not elaborate on the terms of any equity conversion. The Bahraini firm noted that it had paid down some $30 million of current outstanding debt facilities to date in 2014, representing payment of more than 15 percent of its total liabilities.

Bahrain based Gulf Finance House (GFH) announced its financial results for the first half of 2014 ended June 30, 2014. GFH reported a net profit of $10.6m for the period compared with $4.2m for the prior year period. The Bank’s consolidated profits rose by 152% in current period compared to the prior year period although an impairment of $10m was conservatively taken. Net profit for the second quarter of 2014 was $9.5m. Total income for the first half of 2014 was $88.2m compared with $24.5m for the same period of the year 2013. Operating expenses for the period were $67.6m. GFH made debt repayments of approximately $7m during the period, representing a reduction of approximately 3.5% of the Bank’s total financing liabilities.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House plans to list its upcoming $200 million (Dh734 million) sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. The company said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai bourse to list the Islamic bond. GFH said it plans to use the proceeds from the sukuk to repay current outstanding sukuk of $84 million and undertake business acquisitions for financial consolidation and project development in Bahrain and Dubai. The $200 million sukuk will take place in the coming months and a date will be announced later after the approval by the regulatory authorities.

Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) on Sunday announced its collaboration with the World Bank (WB) to begin a research partnership that would be beneficial to the global Islamic banking industry. The partnership's first initiative, part of a planned series of research projects, will be a study examining the risk-management challenges facing Islamic banks, with a particular focus on Musharaka and Mudaraba under the profit-and-loss-sharing system. The project will not only collect data from a number of countries where Musharaka and Mudaraba are being used in banking transactions, but the project will also examine what enabling legal and regulatory environment would be needed to support the adequate risk management of Musharaka and Mudaraba. The research's preliminary findings are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2015.

Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, Gulf Finance House (GFH), has repaid $25 million to debt holders marking total debt principal payments of $33m so far this year. In a statement to the Bahrain Bourse, the bank said this represents more than 15pc of its total outstanding facilities. The repayments highlight its ongoing commitment to meeting obligations to debt holders in line with the restructuring terms concluded in 2012 and the subsequent business plan, GFH said. The bank's outstanding facilities today stand at $169m, representing a leverage ratio of close to 0.28.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) announced a net profit of $143m for the first half of 2014. While balance sheet items increased moderately: total assets increased by 5%, total financing and investments by 5%, customer accounts by 5% and total equity by 3% at the end of June 2014 compared to the end of December 2013. With regard to the results of the second quarter of the year 2014 compared with the results of the first quarter of the same year, total operating income increased by 9% to reach $232m, while net operating income increased by a large percentage of 31% to reach $110m, and net income increased by 15% to $76m.