Growth of Islamic finance and critical role of lawyers (2)

No doubt, the CBN guidelines on non-interest finance have been long awaited due to the fast growing scale and demand for Islamic banking globally. However, there is a need for a more codified regulatory framework and guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at promoting future sukuk issuance and protecting investors’ interest. The regulatory framework should also provide for increased but regulated licensing requirements for Islamic fund managers, provisions for corporate governance, enhanced operational standards, enterprise-wide risk management, accounting, audit and disclosure requirements, advisory council of experts requirement, rendition of periodical regulatory return on Shariah compliance and prudential guidelines relating to fund reserve, liquidity ratio and provision for asset losses.