IslamicFinance.de

Afghanistan seems like a country which is tailor-made for Islamic finance, but it still doesn't have a single Islamic bank. However, moves are afoot to bring it to the country. Afghanistan has rarely been out of the news over the past nine years, as around 40 countries have been endeavouring to turn the country from one of the poorest to something more stable and prosperous. The economy, after years of desperate hardship has been growing at around 10 per cent a year, admittedly from a very low base.
The banking system has been created virtually from scratch and the Central Bank of Afghanistan or Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), as it is better known, is at the forefront of the change, although the transformation not has been without its challenges.
The country has 17 (mostly private) banks including a number of foreign banks such as Standard Chartered, Punjab National Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank (also from Pakistan) and Bank Alfalah.
In 2009 Da Afghanistan Bank embarked on a five year plan to upgrade banking standards throughout the country as part of a broader plan to make the economy meet its much vaunted potential, under the slogan 'Fostering price stability and building a robust financial system.'
The Governor explained that the five-year plan will be operationalised through successive Annual Work Plans (AWPs).