IslamicFinance.de

According to a report by Ernst & Young (2015), there were more than 300 Islamic financial institutions worldwide in more than 70 countries with Islamic banking assets estimated to reach US$1.6 trillion. The strong position of the Islamic financial institutions is largely attributed to the inherent stability of the Islamic financial system. Despite the achievements, Islamic banks are criticised due to favouring debt-based contracts rather than the equity-based contracts. This results in a lack of financial innovations aiming at financial inclusion, particularly to the poor in rural areas in the form of Islamic micro-financing.