A mass awareness campaign to increase public trust and confidence in Islamic banking, to be led by the Islamic banking industry with the support of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), is being launched shortly. According to Deputy Governor of SBP Kazi Abdul Muktadir, the Islamic banking industry is still facing many challenges which include low awareness and understanding of public at large about Islamic banking and its distinction over conventional banking. The campaign is expected to lead to further acceleration in the growth of Islamic banking.
The Islamic banking industry has been expecting the issuance of a standardised framework concerning the distribution of profit and pool management mechanism for the Islamic banking institutions. This framework is necessary for the procedure of financial reporting and general disclosure could be streamlined. According to a report by The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) authorities, the bank has developed a comprehensive profit distribution and pool management framework. The development was conducted with consultation with the industry so that transparency could be increased and standardisation could be brought to the Islamic banking institutions’ practices in terms of profit distribution and pool management.
The Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) - Kazi Abdul Muktadir - announced that the bank is working on a new five-year (2013-17) strategic plan for Islamic banking industry. This plan shall define an overall direction for the Islamic banking industry. According to Mr. Muktadir, an increase in Islamic finance's share in the banking system is very likely and can reach up to 15% in the five years to follow.