IslamicFinance.de

Our client, a leading investment bank is looking for a Senior Islamic Banker to join their dynamic team in Bahrain. The successful candidate, who reports to the Global CEO of Islamic Banking, will be responsible for inception, planning, development and delivery of new Islamic products and product releases to the market in order to meet the overall goals of the bank.

Gulf Advisors is a rapidly expanding financial and management consultancy group based in Jeddah and operating in Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. We are proud to announce that, following the awarding of our Capital Markets Authority licenses, we are currently recruiting for the following positions to be based at our Head Office.

Senior Consultants, Business Development & Project Managers
Ideal applicants will have more than 3 years experience in a relevant consulting organization. They must be strategic thinkers, skilled at interacting effectively with top tier clients. They will be expert at initiating proposals, delivering presentations and maintaining strong client relationships. Preference will be given to applicants with experience in Islamic Banking & Finance, Corporate Finance, or Business Development as well as in Economics or Marketing. Individuals with consulting experience in the Public Sector are also encouraged to apply. Applicants should ideally be available for travel across the region.

Consultants & Business Analysts

Key tasks in this position:
? Perform fundamental security analysis of companies through analysis of financial
statements, sector research, review of outside research and ongoing interaction
with companies.
? Write buy side Coverage Reports and Sector Reports with suitable investment
rationale, valuation comparison, risk assessment, and detailed analysis of potential
profitability and growth.
? Maintain detailed valuation models for companies: DCF, Relative Valuation, Sum of
Parts Valuation, etc., including in-depth financial statement analysis & forecast of
quarterly earnings.
? Prepare composite scorecards for companies based on key metrics; including
liquidity analysis and key revenue drivers.
? Build and update company financial forecast models, and carry out periodic model
audit reviews.
? Conduct macroeconomic & microeconomic country analysis; which includes
studying the industries, sectors, and the competitive landscape.
? Prepare presentations for pitching research ideas and attend analyst conferences.

Job Purpose:

The Director of Distribution and Placement is to oversee the whole department whilst directly
reporting to the CEO.

Brief Description:

This position requires a talented person with a strong placement & distribution backgrounds;
who can roll up his/her sleeves and get the job done.
This person must have solid high level networking (HNW & Institutional) experience along with
excellent product knowledge (technical understanding of investment products).

This role is responsible for developing and growing profitable long-term relationships with Local and International corporates, and Government clients in GCC. The role holder is also responsible for establishing a good understanding of client needs and delivering solutions across Debt Market product lines for the assigned group of multinational and corporate clients, gaining significant business and sustainable returns for the Bank.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The CEO is responsible for management of all Amal Group management activities dealing in the areas of money transfers and remittances which is the core business of the group, the general trading, the real estate and Amal Bank the latter in Somalia. The CEO will be responsible for product management, business growth of the product across all target regions, managing quality and consistency of client delivery, controlling agent operations and driving delivery of new products. Performance is judged based on the achieving revenue and profit growth, efficient control of agent operations, customer satisfaction, strong working relationships, ability to drive new products and services, strong decision-making authority and ability to meet time constraints.

Description

· Primary responsibility of this position is to provide intelligent research on IF produced by the recruit himself. This will involve working on some breakthrough research and survey projects.

· In addition, this position will be responsible for collecting and distributing / publishing data and research to different functions within the IF team, within TR and to external bodies, so that the teams can produce the relevant analysis.

· Activities may include: contacting companies, compiling data; maintaining research databases; preparing analysis; applying research to the appropriate areas; adjusting spreads/prices based on analytics and developing relationships with internal and external clients.

· Responsible, under direction, for conducting specific analysis using their judgment, analytical ability, and experience in the financial markets.

Major Role Responsibility

• Responsible for meeting/exceeding business growth targets

• Meets potential new clients and spends substantial time on new business development.

• Analyzes working capital requirements for clients.

• Monitors financial health of the clients.

• Analyzes and target opportunities to increase share of wallet

• Makes frequent visits to clients' offices to establish strong relationships and keep track of developments.

• Proposing enhancements to existing products / relationships.

• Proactively identifies needs of the clients and prepares to cater to these needs when they come.

• Solicit new relationship for the bank, based on approved KPIs and asset targets

[...]

Key Accountabilities:

• Vostro accounts- control the account opening process related to Compliance and AML/KYC function.

• Follow SAMA and banks internal guidelines. Make periodic review of account as well as monitor Transactions.

• Nostro Accounts - Make sure that Al Rajhi AML/KYC questionnaire is in place and updated periodically as per Compliance/SAMA guidelines

• Nostro Accounts Transactions- Attend periodic queries on AML/KYC issues on outgoing transactions especially outward Remittances.

• Coordinate with Remittance/Operation/Compliance to answer the queries. Keep FI RM/AM in the loop

• Correspondent AML/KYC questionnaire and queries Handle the AML/KYC questionnaires in coordination with Compliance/AML-KYC and concerned FI RM/AM.

• Involve Head of FI/AGM if Reputational issue is concerned

• Coordination with Compliance/AML-KYC dept. Continuous contact with them and update FI staff any update received.

• Coordination with Business units (Trade, Treasury, Tahweel, Operation etc.) on Compliance/AML-KYC matters of international in nature.

• Training the FI staff for Compliance/AML-KYC awareness

The Senior Engineer is required to:

· Manage the bank’s credit engineering function.

· Perform forensic audit of running projects.

· Assess costs to complete for distressed projects.

· Maintain high level contact in industry & market.

· Give senior management of the bank timely information on early warning signal / heads up signs etc.

In addition to above, the Senior Engineer’s day to day functions include:

· Assessing a contractor’s technical capability,

· Monitoring the technical progress of the project, and picking up signals of project lag/distress

· Investigate delay in payments of PPCs.

Saudi Arabian NCB Capital is about to launch a range of Irish-domiciled Islamic mutual funds. This way the company is broadening its investor base and tries to appeal to emerging market investors. The company manages US$12.1bn worth of assets. It has launched two funds investing in Saudi Arabian and GCC equities. NCB's plans include the launch of other funds including one that will invest in sukuk.

Kuwaiti T'azur Takaful Insurance Company has been assigned a first-time Ba1 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) with a stable rating outlook by Moody's Investors Service. The rating is a reflection of the company's good market position within the domestic Takaful market. Its market share is about 8% which puts the company on the 5th position in terms of Takaful contributions. In the last two years T'azur has been growing rapidly - with growth rates of 44% in average.

The Financial Strength Rating of Tadhamon International Islamic Bank (TIIB) has been downgraded to 'b+' from 'BB-' by Capital Intelligence (CI). The downward change of the rating reflects the deterioration in TIIB's financial profile. The ratings of TIIB's Long- and Short-Term Foreign Currency are 'b-' and 'c' respectively. Weakening asset quality and a subsequent large provision charge were the reason why the bank recorded a loss last year.

Job Summary:

To oversee the Treasury Division of the Bank and to ensure that the Division manages the Bank's profit rate, foreign exchange and liquidity risks within the limits and authorizations laid-down by the Board, Central Bank guidelines and other guidelines and authorizations issued by relevant committees.

Key Skills

Conceptual understanding of both Conventional structured products and Islamic finance.

Bank Nizwa has given a request to deploy their funds abroad to Oman's central bank for consideration. Thus, Bank Nizwa will be able to get returns instead of keeping the money idle until the bank starts operation. The capital base of Bank Nizwa is OR150m, compared to that Alizz Islamic Bank's paid up capital is as high as OR100m.

Job Purpose:

To safeguard the organisation, its customers, reputation, assets and the interests of stakeholders by identifying and managing all threats to the achievement of its business objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Design and implement an overall risk management process for the organisation.
Manage the process of identifying and assessing the risks affecting the business.
Oversee, and in some areas implement, the plan of risk control actions.
Monitor, evaluate and challenge the organisation’s success in managing its risks.
Organise appropriate risk reporting, internally and externally.

In the attempt to assure Dubai's position in the Middle East as a center for transport and tourism, Dubai is about to launch some grandiose construction projects. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, ordered a a new city development named after himself to be built. According to estimates, the project will most probably be worth about $10 billion. It shall include 100 hotels, the world's largest shopping mall, parks, art galleries and exhibition centers. A further project for a leisure complex of five theme parks worth $2.7 billion has also been announced.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is eyeing revision of existing standards and the introduction of new ones. Thus, they hope to stay abreast of the challenging requirements of industry in financial reporting. This year they already issued a new standard for investment in real estate. It will take effect on January 1 and will ensure more detailed guidelines on the matter of accounting real estate investments.

In conclusion of a detailed and extensive selection process, Bank Dhofar chose IFS as the Consultancy and product implementation partner for Shariah compliant products for their corporate as well as individual customers. In IFS, Bank Dhofar found a trusted partner with the necessary knowledge and expertise to make offering suitable Shariah compliant products possible. According to the recently signed agreement, IFS will provide Sharia complaint products to the bank. The project consists of two phases. The first will include products for individuals while the second will include products directed towards corporates and individuals.

It is necessary for regulators in the Middle East to gather in order to coordinate on regulatory changes. Thus it will be possible for countries in the Gulf to profit from domestic and foreign fund manager participation.