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The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) have successfully organised a Shari’ah Roundtable themed, ‘Financial Safety Nets: Striking a Balance between Shari’ah Requirements and the Soundness of the Islamic Financial System’. The Roundtable was held on 5 November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Roundtable aimed to provide a platform to Shari’ah scholars, legal practitioners, regulators and market players for having in-depth deliberations on key aspects of financial safety nets such as Lender of the Last Resort (LOLR) and Deposit Insurance Schemes from the Shari’ah perspective.
Over 70 delegates from nine jurisdictions among the IFSB members and non-member organisations – representatives from market players, regulatory bodies, and international agencies – Shari’ah scholars as well as academia attended this Roundtable.
Mr. Jaseem Ahmed, the Secretary-General of the IFSB, in his Opening Address, highlighted that financial safety nets feature as a key component of an integrated financial stability framework, the importance of which was highlighted during the global financial crisis. He emphasised that safety net mechanisms such as lender of last resort facilities and deposit insurance schemes should be compatible with Shari’ah principles. To offer these schemes in a wider set of jurisdictions, it would be important for Shari’ah scholars to lead the discussion along with regulators, market players and legal practitioners in order to identify the major obstacles, issues and challenges in introducing such facilities on Shari’ah- compliant basis. Mr Jaseem also informed the audience that Shari’ah scholars play a pertinent role in the work of the IFSB – their role is embedded in the due process of preparing the IFSB standards and guiding principles – where the members of the Shari’ah Board of the Islamic Development Bank vet thoroughly and review the IFSB draft document prior to submission to the IFSB Council for issuance.