IslamicFinance.de

After the top level management of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) was removed in January, a similar series of drastic changes takes place in Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL). SIBL Chairman Rezaul Haque and Executive Committee Chairman Md Anisul Hoque were replaced by Prof Anwarul Azim Arif and Belal Ahmed. The Managing Director of SIBL, Shahid Hossain, has also stepped down and been replaced by Quazi Osman Ali. The decision to remove the top three of the senior management and the announcement on their replacements was made at a closed door meeting of the bank’s board of directors. The changes are allegedly being backed by Chittagong-based S Alam Group that bought up shares of both banks prior to the takeover.

Thomson Reuters will provide Alinma Bank with a Shariah-compliant application. It will fully automate deal workflow for Shariah-compliant financial transactions. The application provides a real-time view of Shariah-compliant deals, through an automated online system that minimizes the process of tracking transactions. Alinma Head of Treasury, Abdullah Al Zahrani, said that he was pleased to be the first bank in Saudi Arabia to partner with Thomson Reuters to bring innovative solutions to the Shariah-compliant banking. Nadim Najjar, Managing Director for MENA at Thomson Reuters, said this innovative application would automate the validation process and offer a seamless digital solution for the industry.

In Algeria, three public lending institutions will start offering Islamic finance services before the end of the year. They are the Banque de l’agriculture et du développement Rural (BADR), the Caisse Nationale d’Epargne et de Prévoyance (CNEP) and the Banque de Développement Local (BDL). Currently, in Algeria only Al Baraka Bank and Salam Bank are allowed to offer participative finance products to their clients. They are in fact competing in this sector with private lenders that offer both traditional and Islamic banking services. Boualem Djebbar, president of Algerian banks and financial institutions’ association, said a democratization of Islamic finance by 2018 should be expected in the country.

Islamic banking in Bangladesh is taking shape rapidly with partial practice of Shariah. Islamic banking was first introduced in Bangladesh in 1983 by foreign investors from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Currently, eight full-fledged Islamic banks are operating with 1,068 branches in the country. Moreover, 19 Islamic banking branches of nine commercial banks and 25 Islamic banking windows of eight commercial banks are also providing Islamic financial services. According to Md Yasin Ali, professor of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), most of the Islamic Banks in Bangladesh are not Shariah compliant. Currently, there is no proper regulatory framework for strict monitoring of Islamic banking. The Islamic banks in Bangladesh have been facing excess liquidity problem, which is depriving them of being financiers in public projects.

The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bahrain. The MoU aims at enhancing the cooperation between the specialized professional accounting fellowship issued by AAOIFI, Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA) and the international professional fellowship ACCA. According to Farhan Noor, AAOIFI's Head of Professional Development, the new CIPA now requires the candidates to pass four module exams and fulfill a one-year practical experience requirement. By this agreement, ACCA qualified accountants can now get exemptions from half of the CIPA program to acquire the prestigious CIPA Fellowship. The MoU also includes cooperation in different areas such as research, events and continuous development.

#Bangladesh-based Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) plans to invest $2 million in a real estate-based private equity fund managed by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The bank plans to buy 200 shares of Awqaf Properties Investment Fund (APIF) for $10,000 each. A 2% stake in the fund will be enough to give SIBL a seat on the APIF board. SIBL claimed that participating in the APIF equity would benefit it in various ways. It would optimise the facilities delivered to Awqaf customers and enhance the returns to investors. According to SIBL managing director Shahid Hossain, SIBL will get 90% of net income per certificate apart from yearly dividend. The secretary of Financial Institutions Division, Eunusur Rahman, said they would place a proposal before the Cabinet committee on Economic Affairs to allow local companies invest abroad after discussions with the Finance Minister.

Dagong Global Credit Rating and Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) have jointly maintained the ratings of AlBaraka Banking Group (ABG) at BBB+/A3. At the same time, IIRA has re-affirmed the national scale ratings of ABG at A+/A2. Outlook on the assigned ratings has been revised to 'stable' from 'negative' indicating the macroeconomic and political stability in ABG’s core countries. ABG operates through a globally diversified franchise spread across 11 jurisdictions in Europe, Africa and Asia. ABG’s ratings derive strength from the recent tier 1 Sukuk issuance this year. While the Group’s subsidiaries are individually governed by their supervisors, the Group maintains close coordination and oversight. Furthermore, Bahrain's institutional framework for Islamic banks ensures adherence to a strong framework for Shari'ah governance.

#Kuwait's Warba Bank announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2017. Net profits increased by 442% reaching KD 4.752 m compared to KD 877 K for the same period last year. The increase in the Bank’s total revenues was driven by strong performance of all business units. The total revenues reached KD 42.66 million at an increase of 63% compared to the first nine months of 2016. Moreover, the operating revenues increased by 70%, amounting to KD 26.800 million by the end of September 2017 compared to KD 15.741 million for the same period of 2016. Warba Bank's CEO Shaheen Hamad Al-Ghanem said that the Bank has successfully accomplished a number of deals most notably a strategic financing deal in the aviation sector in Kuwait. Warba Bank also participated in Sharia -complaint co-financing for the Ziraat Participation Bank of Turkey amounting $236 million. The Bank also participated in arranging the $400 million Sukuk issuance of the Dubai-based Miraas Holding for Real Estate Development.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has announced new country-level data on growth of the Islamic banking systems for Q4 of 2016 and Q1 of 2017 from 17 IFSB member jurisdictions. IFSB Secretary-General Zahid ur Rehman Khokher said the IFSB’s Prudential and Structural Islamic Financial Indicators (PSIFIs) database project has reached 14 quarters, and that it would soon be extending to four new jurisdictions. He added that the IFSB also plans to release sector level balance sheets of entire jurisdictions for the Islamic banking market starting next year. The PSIFI project currently compiles data from 17 member countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The IFSB is now in the process of collecting Islamic banking data from these new contributors: Qatar Central Bank, Bank of England, Central Bank of Lebanon and Palestine Monetary Authority.

Al Rajhi Bank #Malaysia outgoing chairman Datuk Seri Dr Nik Norzrul said his successor would continue with the plan to expand the bank’s operation, targeting neighbouring markets like Singapore and Indonesia. Nik Norzrul has been with Al Rajhi Bank since the bank established its wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia in 2006. He has been a board member of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia since 2006 and its chairman since 2015. Today the bank has assets worth a total of RM9bil, compared with RM291mil in 2006. In the retail segment, the bank continues to see growth in the demand for current account/savings account services. In the corporate segment, Nik Norzrul said Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia was working on strengthening its presence targeting owner-led enterprises as well as SMEs.

Qatari banks have met investors in Europe and Asia to gauge their interest in potential U.S. dollar bond issues. Access to international debt markets has become problematic since the diplomatic crisis has erupted. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Cross-border deposits accounted for about a quarter of Qatar's total deposits, so banks started to look for alternative funding. Al Khalij Commercial Bank, Doha Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank and QNB have all met investors in recent weeks. Feedback was positive, but investors also made clear that issuers would have to pay premiums in order to attract sufficient demand. According to an international portfolio manager, the premium that Qatari banks would have to pay is about 30-40 basis points. A second fund manager said Qatari banks would have to pay up not only because of the increased political risk, but also because of general market conditions in the region.

#Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an inquiry into the alleged misuse of authority by SBP officials at the amalgamation of KASB Bank into BankIslami. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a smear campaign was run in the media against them. SBP added that the onesided views presented in the media led to misjudgment about the authority of SBP as a guardian of the financial sector. All stakeholders of the defunct KASB Bank were well aware of the poor financial conditions of the bank. The State Bank gave ample time to the sponsors of KASB Bank to inject further capital into the bank. Besides capital shortfall, the bank and its sponsors engaged in fraudulent practices and were siphoning off more than Rs 3 billion from the bank. SBP stated that none of its officials misused authority nor were involved in any kind of corrupt practices.

Investment banks (IBs) want Bank Negara Malaysia to withdraw the property lending guideline, which was introduced in 1997. It stipulates that a bank’s credit facilities should not exceed 20% of its total outstanding loan base. Compliance with this requirement is calculated on a quarterly basis. For IBs, the guideline mainly affects their underwriting business. They think the guideline is outdated, especially since there are already other macroprudential measures introduced by Bank Negara in recent years. The Malaysian Investment Banking Association (MIBA) had highlighted the issues affecting the industry to Bank Negara. It is understood that the central bank is currently reviewing the guideline.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is planning to spend significant financial resources on digital technology this year. The lender is not rushing to downsize its branch network, as clients continue to value human interaction. According to Phil King, head of retail banking at ADIB, the bank is also planning to open three to five branches across the UAE next year. King noted that while mobile banking transactions at ADIB rose 49% in the first half of the year, there was a 10% drop in visits made by customers to the bank’s branches in the same period. He added that new branches would be smaller in size, ranging between 35 to 70 square meters versus the larger ones of the past. As a result of the bank’s increase in consumer lending, ADIB’s retail staff has grown 7% so far this year to 247 employees compared to a year-earlier period. ADIB's second-quarter net profit rose 8.7%, beating analyst forecast, thanks to a drop in provisions, gains in income from credit cards and other fee products.

Iranian banks have decided to get more engaged with the country’s startup scene. According to Alireza Daliri, Deputy Director of Iran’s Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, Bank Melli Iran has invested around over 26 million dollars in the country’s startup market. Daliri added that the Vice-Presidency had offered the banks to either establish their own accelerators or invest on large successful and on-going projects. Eventually, the banks decided to go with the latter. Daliri added that the Vice-Presidency has started negotiations with a number of Iranian banks such as Saderat, Sepah, Export Development Bank, Tourism Bank, Post Bank and Refah, but it is difficult to persuade them. Iran’s startup scene has witnessed exponential growth in the recent years. The number of knowledge-based firms in the country has increased from 52 in March 2014 to 2732 until October 2016, but lack of funding is still a major issue.

The merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) in the UAE last year had triggered a number of unconfirmed reports of bank mergers across the GCC. However, most of these reports were denied by bank managements. While bankers and analysts say the time is ripe for more bank mergers, they expect more merger deals to happen in the Islamic banking and Takaful industry. A proposed merger of Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank is expected to result in second biggest Islamic Bank in the GCC after Al Rajhi Bank. The merger of Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan, Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar is progressing and is expected to complete by end of the year. Some countries have only a small number of local banks, which limits competition. This means that profitability has remained solid and is therefore less likely to be a driver for M&A. Another stumbling block is the ownership structure of GCC banks, well established local private shareholders often control sizeable stakes and foreign banks only hold minority stakes.

At the beginning of the new school year, Meethaq Islamic Bank along with the Ministry of Education and Injaz Oman has started a financial literacy program called Little Investor. It covers over 4,000 students in Muscat, Batinah, and Dhofar. The aim of the initiative is to broaden the early financial education among Oman’s kids, to help them create healthy savings habits and to motivate them to develop their entrepreneurial skills. As an example of a successful public-private partnership, the initiative aims to unite the nation and make the people give back to their country. The four pillars of the program include financial literacy, sustainable tourism, green environment and enriched lifestyle. Injaz Oman is a non-profit organization working towards improving young people's leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Meethaq Bank confirmed it would stick to its social responsibility initiatives and would keep investing in the sustainable development of Oman.

GCC's banking sector is expected to see a new round of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the wake of the latest such move initiated by Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank of Bahrain. According to U Capital, at least five M&A deals are in various stages of discussion. The new round of M&A follows the merger between National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and First Gulf Bank (FGB) in the UAE, resulting in creation of the regions second biggest bank. Combined assets of four top conventional banks in the region stand at $621 billion whereas the assets of entire Islamic banks in GCC stand at $563 billion as of second quarter 2017. According to banking sources, Masraf Al Rayan, International Bank of Qatar and Barwa Bank are in the due diligence phase. The three-way merger is expected to create the largest Islamic bank in Qatar. Saudi British Bank and Alawwal Bank are also said to be discussing a potential merger that would create the third-largest bank in Saudi Arabia.

#Bangladesh-based Social Islami Bank (SIBL) is set to invest $2 million in a real estate-focused private equity fund managed by the Islamic Development Bank. The fund is called the Awqaf Properties Investment Fund (APIF) and aims to invest in Awqaf real estate property that is socially, economically and financially viable in member countries of the IDB. SIBL's managing director, Amm Farhad, said the bank was investing in the project not for commercial reasons but for social welfare. In Bangladesh, APIF will start off with the construction of two towers, a multipurpose building and a university in Chittagong, with a total investment of $100 million. The bank will represent Bangladesh in the managerial committee of APIF, which has 8 IDB member countries in the board: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine and Malaysia.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been recognised by Global Finance as the safest Islamic Bank in Qatar and one of the safest Banks in the Middle East. Also, QIB was recognised as the second safest Bank across the banking sector, and the third safest Islamic Bank in the Middle East. Global Finance evaluates the ratings and total assets size of the banks, which were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings from Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch. QIB's Group CEO Bassel Gamal said he was proud to be active contributor to Qatar's growing financial sector and to the country's National Vision 2030. Total assets of the Bank have increased by 9.2% compared to the first half of 2016, and now stand at QR147bn. Income for the first half of this year is QR3.14bn registering 18.4% compared to QR2.657bn for the first half of 2016.