IslamicFinance.de

Malaysia Building Society (MBSB) is a step closer to becoming a full-fledged Islamic bank after the proposed acquisition of Asian Finance Bank (AFB). If the merger takes place, the tie-up between non-bank MBSB and AFB would create the country's second largest Islamic bank.

According to AllianceDBS Research, a new wave of merger and acquisition (M&A) activities in the Islamic banking space is plausible, although the timing remains the key risk. Potential M&A candidates include the Malaysia Building Society (MBSB), and Bank Muamalat Malaysia (Muamalat). The research house added domestic Islamic financing growth was expected to continue outpacing conventional loans growth, driven by regulatory push for internationalisation of Islamic finance. This was mainly underpinned by a growing push by banks to fulfil Bank Negara Malaysia’s target of 40% proportion of Islamic financing. AllianceDBS predicts the big game-changer will be product innovation. The research house named the main Islamic banking proxy, the BIMB Holdings (BIMB) as the largest Shariah compliant financial institution with strong potential to lead product innovation.