IslamicFinance.de

The central bank of Pakistan is stepping up its push to develop Islamic banking, encouraging lenders to expand their operations in the world's second most populous Muslim nation. As of September, Islamic banks held 926 billion rupees ($8.8 billion) of assets or 9.5 percent of the total, up from 8.1 percent a year earlier. The central bank aims to double the industry's branch network and reach a 15 percent share of the banking system in the next five years. To achieve that, the central bank named a new deputy governor to focus on Islamic banking and enlisted renowned scholar Muhammad Taqi Usmani to its sharia board. Moreover, the central bank's media campaign is expected to intensify in coming months and such educational efforts could attract previously unbanked clients to the sector.