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In EY’s World Islamic Banking Competitiveness report, EY monitored 55,884 Islamic banking customer sentiments in the UAE on social media as part of a wider study. According to the study, UAE banking clients were most satisfied with customer service. Customer feelings were mixed with respect to branch experience, online banking and phone banking. The study of social media comments has revealed an improvement opportunity for Shariah-compliant banks with respect to products and services, which were ranked the lowest in terms of customer satisfaction.

Afaq Khan, CEO of Standard Chartered Saadiq, has decided to leave the Bank and plans to take a career break, according to a statement by the bank. Afaq Khan joined Standard Chartered in 2003 and is a well-known and well-respected figure in the Islamic finance industry. Khan is the second senior figure to leave Standard Chartered Saadiq in the last six months. At the end of October last year, Wasim Saifi resigned as Global Head of Islamic Banking for Consumer Banking. Saifi had rejoined Standard Chartered in the role in January 2011. The bank said a successor to Afaq Khan will be announced in due course.

An Islamic leasing firm will be launched by Egypt's Arab Investment Bank and the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank an in aim to provide sharia-compliant financing to small businesses. Enmaa Leasing Company for this purpose will have authorized capital of $20 million, according to a joint statement said. The ICD is discussing to debut sovereign Islamic bonds (sukuk) with Nigeria and Ivory Coast.

In an opening ceremony Finance Minister Ishaq Dar expressed his pleasure to the State Bank of Pakistan which has been supportive to such initiatives like the Centre of Excellence in Islamic Finance Education (CEIFE) which strengthens the efforts to increase Islamic banking and finance.
The Islamic finance industry had reached US$ 1.8 trillion in the last 40 years according to SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra. According to experts, the Shariah compliant assets globally are expected to grow up to 20% annually and financial assets will probably reach US$5 trillion by 2020. Pakistan, by the end of 2018, would have reached an overall share of Islamic Banking of 15%, currently 10%.

According to EY's "World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2014-15: Participation Banking 2.0", Islamic banking assets with commercial banks in international markets were set to exceed $778 bilion in 2014. Global Islamic banking assets witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 17 per cent from 2009 to 2013. The report, prepared by EY's Global Islamic Banking Centre, said that approximately 95 per cent of international Islamic banking assets of commercial banks are based out of nine core markets, five of which are in the GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain).

As reported in the lower chamber of parliament, the draft law that removes barriers for implementing Islamic banking in Russia is submitted in the State Duma. If the document is accepted, the appropriate amendments will be made in the federal law on «Banks and banking activity». The explanatory note to the draft law mentions that attracting Islamic investments is an extremely effective tool in conditions of difficult economic situation. It is stated that within economic development strategy of Russia giving a chance to Islamic finance means to attract a large number of additional investment, in conditions of crisis economy to help Russia develop a new economy based not on raw materials’ money.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is expected to see an increase in its wealth management portfolio, with more high net worth individuals set to start banking at ADIB, according to Daffer Luqman, the bank’s global head of liabilities and wealth management. Luqman said he did not see an impact of falling oil prices on their portfolio of high- and ultra-high net worth individuals. He added that the global financial crisis in 2008 has resulted in more people, including those with high net worth, to look into long-term savings as their financial situation is prone to change.

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya swung to a net loss of 877 million liras ($336 million) in 2014 on shrinking loans and deposits. The bank, in which Turkish banking regulators seized a small stake last week over an alleged illegal share sale, had reported a net profit of 180.6 million liras in 2013. Loan loss provisions amounted to 1.45 billion liras in 2014, almost half of which came in the final quarter, the bank said. Bank Asya wrote off 943 million worth of loans in 2014. Loans and deposits contracted 24 percent and 12 percent respectively in the fourth quarter.

Oman's Bank Nizwa has launched a pioneering educational platform entitled 'Islamic Finance Knowledge Series', which aims to raise the community's awareness about Islamic banking across Oman. Jamil El Jaroudi, the bank's chief executive officer, noted that the new initiative is seeking to address the misconceptions about the concept of Islamic banking. El Jaroudi said that one mistaken belief is that it is more expensive to obtain financing from an Islamic bank than a conventional bank, which is not necessarily true. The sessions of the series will be delivered to both the public and private sector individuals, as well as college and university students.

Al Rayan Bank PLC, formerly known as Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), has announced the appointment of Tim Sinclair as senior head of marketing and retail sales at its Birmingham office. Sinclair has played a role in the realignment of the bank’s sales channels, towards a more direct model. This has been achieved by developing the bank’s online capabilities, resulting in a 439% growth in direct sales between 2011 and 2014. Sinclair has also championed several research projects, which have helped Al Rayan Bank to develop a clearer understanding of the British Muslim consumer and business marketplace, a previously under researched area.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said Sunday it has been shortlisted as a buyer for Citigroup 's Egypt retail business in what is set to be a heated battle to tap into one of the world's fastest growing economies. Mashreq and Emirates NBD are also reportedly bidding to buy Citi 's Egypt consumer banking network. Whoever wins this will have an advantage because Citibank has a good portfolio of clients, they have more than 100,000 credit cards, Tirad Al Mahmoud, ADIB's chief executive, said. Citi , which has also dropped its retail banking businesses in Turkey, Romania, Greece and Pakistan, has said it sees potential in other booming economies such as in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has hired Cenk Karacaoglu as head of syndications in the debt business, reporting to the bank's head of capital financing Arsalaan Ahmed. Before joining Barwa, Karacaoglu was briefly Al Rajhi Bank's head of trade finance, a post he held for around four months. Prior to that he was a vice president in the fixed income business of Turkey's Bank Asya for just over 11 years. Before he became a banker, Karacaoglu worked in Singapore Airline's finance department for five years. His hire is "part of the ongoing investment into the debt capital markets platform," a spokesperson for Barwa Bank said.

Bank Asya’s lawyer Süleyman Ta?ba? vows to challenge the Finance Ministry's Financial Crimes wing (MASAK) and the banking regulator calling for return of shares. Acting upon information that the Finance Ministry's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) was engaged in concocting a report that would cast negative light on publicly-traded Bank Asya, Süleyman Ta?ba? has filed a letter to MASAK stating that only the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Capital Markets Board (SPK) had authority. Adding that the incident constituted to an unconstitutional profiling of Bank Asya the lawyer vowed to defend the rights of the shareholders.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dr Ahmad Ali, will host an online press conference on Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at 09:30 GMT. Journalists interested in attending this online press conference will be able to ask questions live via the internet. The conference will be held in English, Arabic and French. This service is free and only requires a computer connected to the internet. Register on the following website: http://www.apo-opa.com/application.php?L=E&vc=ISB

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korea's Woori Bank, aimed at further strengthening co-operation and sharing business opportunities. The signing ceremony held in Doha was signed by QIB's group CEO Bassel Gamal and Lee Dong-Gun, deputy CEO of Woori Bank, and attended by senior executives from both the banks. The partnership is aimed at servicing both Qatari and South Korean entities that are currently engaged in business activities in Qatar and/or South Korea; and companies that are intending in the future to set up such type of business arrangements.

Gatehouse Bank has announced the addition of Threadneedle Investments as a shareholder in Gatehouse. Threadneedle, an international asset manager based in London with assets under management of $148.2 billion, has acquired a shareholding of approximately two per cent in Gatehouse. The addition of Threadneedle to its shareholder base enhances Gatehouse's ability to continue to deliver value-added opportunities for its clients. The bank has a long history of bridging capital from the GCC region and Southeast Asia with investment in Western markets.

According to Standard & Poor's (S&P), the replacement of Bank Asya's management and upcoming general elections do not create risks for the banking industry. The international rating agencies' ratings for Turkey are not affected by the decision by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency's (BDDK) in regards to the seizure of Bank Asia. S&P futher noted that the bank's share in the banking system was only around 0.1 percent and therefore does not create any systematic risk for the banking sector. Moreover, Turkey's banking system is being positively affected by geopolitical developments with Turkish banks benefiting from what is happening in Russia and Ukraine.

Two Islamic banks, Al Baraka and Al Shamal, are currently in talks with Russian credit organizations to enter their capital market. Both banks have been interested in the Russian market but had trouble trying to enter it independently due to a lack of regulations that let organizations work with Islamic banks and abide by their rules in Russia. The main sphere of their interests is corporate financing. First Vice President of Al Baraka bank Khalid Qattan confirmed in a comment that his institution was currently holding negotiations with several Russian banks, with no final agreements reached yet.

Morocco is poised to have its first full-fledged Islamic bank as early as September. Dar Assafaa, an affiliate of the country’s largest lender AttijariWafa Bank, will probably become the nation’s first wholly Sharia-compliant financial institution when the central bank approves its switch. The country’s Islamic finance bill, which came into force on January 30, also allows for the formation of a centralised Sharia board to oversee Islamic banks. The Moroccan Association of Participative Financiers estimates total investment in Sharia-compliant products in the country will reach $7 billion by 2018.

Japanese banks' Islamic finance capabilities could be boosted following a Financial Services Authority (FSA) consultation. The consultation, which runs until March 27, is expected to open the onshore sukuk market - a boost for Asia's largest domestic bond market. This proposal broadens the products that Japanese banks can offer. It will allow banks to provide Islamic finance services to their clients, so that they can lend in the forms of commodity murabahah andijarah. It also adds clarifications for banks to make certain investments in the forms of mudarabah andmusharakah as well as certain derivatives transactions.