IslamicFinance.de

Bank Asya said on Wednesday it has mandated Goldman Sachs as its financial advisor for a strategic partnership, without providing further details. Bank Asya shares traded on the Borsa ?stanbul (BIST) were down 3.5 percent on Wednesday. In March, the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) said it had entered into exclusive talks to buy a stake in Bank Asya without giving further details. Bank Asya also said last week it mandated its management to possibly sell its subsidiaries. The bank was earlier targeted by government officials who claim alleged irregularities in the bank. The government has however failed to prove these allegations.

The Islamic Bank of Britain has once again joined forces with the National Zakat Foundation (NZF), a charity which collects and distributes funds to Muslims in the UK. The coming months will see the Bank and NZF roll out a number of activities for the benefit of IBB 's customers, including a Q&A event held via Twitter, NZF's Zakat education guide, available to download on the IBB website, private consultations for IBB customers with NZF Zakat specialists, a Zakat payment service, and an exclusive Zakat video Q&A from NZF. The aim of the IBB and NZF partnership is to promote a better understanding of Zakat amongst British Muslims.

Euroclear UK and Ireland (EUI) is to bring to the market the first UK Soverign Sukuk bond. The £200 million Sukuk bond will primarily be issued in Brussels-based Euroclear and will settle in EUI and Euro Bank from 2 July. EUI is to provide an issuance, settlement and safekeeping service for this premier UK government Sukuk bond. UI already holds £1.3 trillion worth of gilts on behalf of clients. Euroclear Bank has a strong history of providing post-trade expertise in sharia compliant debt – last year Euroclear Bank partnered with Borse Dubai to support asset servicing for clients purchasing bonds on NASDAQ Dubai’s Sukuk trading platform.

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya has ruled out reports of ending share sales talks with Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB). Several reports on July 2 claimed Bank Asya and the QIB have ended exclusive talks regarding the QIB acquiring a stake in the Turkish lender after failing to agree on price. The reports also quoted sources claiming Turkish state-run bank Ziraat Bank may now be the most likely partner for Bank Asya, but the two banks have not officially begun negotiations. Ziraat Bank officials said there had not yet been any official attempts to move toward Bank Asya, but they did not deny the possibility of such an acquisition either. Meanwhile, on July 1, Bank Asya announced it has moved to sell assets worth around 133 million liras.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Luxembourg-based ATLANTICLUX Lebensversicherung S.A.'s (ATL) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'. Moreover, its Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) was upgraded to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'. The Outlook is Stable. At the same time Fitch has upgraded ATL's SQ ReVita Value of Business In-Force transaction and its Salam III Sukuk (Islamic bond) programme to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'. The upgrade reflects ATL's track record of strong profitability, low investment risk and its strong capital position. However, these positive rating factors are partly offset by ATL's dependence on unit-linked products and its fairly small size.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Turkey's Bank Asya have ended exclusive talks over QIB acquiring a stake in the Turkish lender, with valuation concerns said to be behind the decision. Turkish state bank Ziraat Bank may now be the most likely partner for Bank Asya but the two banks have not officially begun talks. It is not clear what size stake has been under discussion. Bank Asya shares slumped 9.9 percent to 1.36 lira, their lowest since April 1, by 1304 GMT, on the news that Asya was no longer holding exclusive talks with QIB. Islamic lender Bank Asya has been under pressure to sell assets, after major investors sympathetic to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan withdrew deposits.

In his Keynote Address at the 2014 London Sukuk Summit on 18 June, Jaseem Ahmed, Secretary-General, Islamic Financial Services Board, noted that the high growth rate of the Islamic finance industry has led to the emergence of Islamic finance sectors that have attained systemic importance in a number of key economies in Asia and the wider Gulf and Middle East. The second aspect of the global IF industry he highlighted is that rapid growth of Islamic finance is taking place in a group of nations that display wide variation in their market, institutional and policy and regulatory development. The IFSB Secretary General noted that the key priority is to find the resources and organisational modes and partnerships that help committed jurisdictions to meet the challenges they face, and wish for assistance in addressing.

The crowdfunding platform Kiva and Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Ltd. have partnered to launch ‘Change is in Your Hands’. The campaign enables individuals who want to help entrepreneurs with a plan. As part of the launch, Grameen-Jameel is offering up to 13,000 visitors to www.kiva.org/MiddleEast a ‘free trial’, the equivalent of $25 to lend to the entrepreneur of their choice. To double the campaign’s impact, Grameen-Jameel is also matching up to $665,000 in loans made by Kiva lenders. In total, Grameen-Jameel has committed $1 million to this campaign. Loans that meet both traditional and Islamic financing standards are available. ‘Change is in Your Hands’ will focus as a first step on lending to support entrepreneurship among women and youth in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Turkey.

The Islamic Bank of Britain plc (IBB) has accredited a new fully Sharia compliant auto-enrolment Pension Scheme: the Islamic Pension Trust. It has been launched to address the need for a Sharia compliant pension scheme to meet the criteria for automatic enrolment, as defined by the Government. This means that employers in the UK can meet their legal obligation to automatically enrol eligible Muslim employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme. Eligible employees - i.e. those who are not in a company pension scheme, earning more than £10,0000 a year (2014/2015) and aged over 22 but under State Pension Age - represent a large proportion of the Muslim population.

A new loan called a ‘takaful’ will be made available in Great Britain to allow Muslims to fund their studies without contravening their beliefs. The money allocated - and the repayment amounts – will be equivalent to the set-up for all other students, who must pay university fees of up £9,000 a year. But the co-operative system will see repayments paid back into a communal fund and used to finance future students who choose to join it, so all members benefit equally. That will allow those paying the tackaful to view it as a charitable donation – rather than a loan. However, the earliest the change can be introduced is 2016 and it could be later, because new legislation is needed.

Barwa Bank has been appointed as one of five Joint Lead Managers for the UK's £200m debut sovereign sukuk. The Qatari lender takes its place alongside HSBC, Standard Chartered, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and CIMB of Malaysia. Of the five banks involved, Barwa Bank is the only Qatari bank selected and the only wholly Shariah-compliant mandated bank on the panel. Britain's first sovereign sukuk delivers on the government's commitment to become the western hub of Islamic finance. Very strong demand for the sukuk is expected, resulting in a price that delivers good value for money.

Turkish lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to sell 3 billion ringgit ($933 million) of Islamic bonds in Malaysia. The bank will initially raise 800 million ringgit with a five-year sukuk on June 30 which will have an annual return of six percent. Sukuk under the programme will have a tenure of one to 20 years. Funds raised will go towards general corporate purposes. The so-called sukuk murabaha will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans. Malaysia's RAM Ratings has accorded the programme an indicative long-term rating of AA3. HSBC Amanah Malaysia and Standard Chartered Saadiq are joint advisers.

Islamic Bank of Britain plc (IBB) has appointed Sultan Choudhury as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director. He previously held the position of interim Managing Director of IBB. IBB is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year and Mr Choudhury is the Bank’s longest-serving employee. He joined IBB when it was formed in 2004 and has since set up the Bank’s Head Office operations and Branch Network. Mr Choudhury has also led the development and implementation of IBB’s full product range and service delivery channels. As CEO, Mr Choudhury is working with IBB’s new parent company on plans to expand property finance to businesses, including development finance.

UK-based retail lender Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) plans to broaden its product range to win business both locally and across Europe, aided by the backing of its new Qatari shareholder Masraf Al-Rayan. IBB is developing its commercial property business to widen fee-based income as it aims to post a profit for the first time, newly-appointed CEO Sultan Choudhury said. Masraf Al-Rayan in February injected 75.8 million pounds ($129 million) into IBB to support its expansion plans. The bank's property finance business has doubled in size in the last year, which could allow IBB to expand later into Europe, said Choudhury, adding its retail operations would remain focused in the UK. IBB also aims to buy some of the 200 million pounds of sukuk that the British government will issue this week.

Gatehouse?Bank has completed its first real estate financing deal. The £11.7m deal funds a joint venture between Princeton Property Partners and Resolution Property, and will turn an office block in Fitzrovia into eight flats. Meanwhile, Gatehouse Bank has hired Nick Westoby from RBS, Arnaud Schaller from Credit Agricole and Eduardo Martin from Banco Popular Espanol to bolster its real estate financing unit. Gatehouse said it has financing deal worth more than £500m in the pipeline.

Turkish participation bank Kuveyt Turk has launched a $500m five year sukuk at 340bp over mid-swaps, the tight end of refined guidance, after drawing $3.25bn of orders. Kuveyt Turk gave initial price thoughts of 375bp over mid-swaps on Wednesday, but tightened guidance to a 350bp plus or minus 10bp range on Thursday morning as books passed $2.25bn. Books went subject at 11am in London. The banks arranging the transaction are Citigroup, Emirates NBD, HSBC, Kuwait Finance House and Standard Chartered.

QIB-UK, a subsidiary of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), is offering real estate investment opportunities for premium clients looking to purchase properties in London. The bank’s network gives interested clients early access to residential real estate opportunities. They will enjoy privileged introductions to opportunities in the London real estate market both for buyers and investors alike. In addition, the bank offers a full suite of Shari’ah-compliant structured commercial real estate financing products including investment, residential development and mezzanine financing to clients.

Last week, Britain mandated five banks to arrange a 200 million pound ($336 million) sukuk issue which could be issued in coming weeks, subject to market conditions. Britain's choice of HSBC, Qatar's Barwa Bank, Malaysia's CIMB, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered as arrangers appeared designed to ensure easy distribution and tight pricing. But the choice was notable for excluding all of Britain's six full-fledged Islamic banks; none was included in the mandate. That could reduce the impact of the issue in developing expertise and depth in Britain's Islamic banking sector. It may also limit British banks' access to the issue.

Asset management firm Arabesque has received regulatory approval to start operations with its value-based investment strategies - the latest addition to Britain's Islamic finance sector. The London-headquartered firm now has in place a team of 18 staff, with additional offices in Frankfurt and New York, chief executive Omar Selim said. Moreover, Arabesque is backed by an advisory board of ethical industry professionals. The firm is backed by capital from its own management and has commitments from several institutional investors. Arabesque plans to establish funds in Luxembourg and will offer managed accounts as well.

The European Union's second highest court has annulled an EU asset freeze on Syria International Islamic Bank, dealing another blow to EU sanctions following legal victories last year by several Iranian companies. The EU imposed sanctions on SIIB in 2012, alleging that it had acted on behalf of two other banks, Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS) and Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank (SLCB), that were both under EU sanctions. But the court said the bloc's governments had failed to provide evidence. The bank has also been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. The ruling is subject to appeal.