US-based World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) recently published the “Islamic Finance Manual: Operating Policies and Procedures”, a guide that is intended to assist bankers with establishing Shariah-compliant credit unions in developing countries. The manual was developed by the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), an Australia-based member organization of WOCCU, based on COBA’s experience establishing Islamic investment and finance cooperatives in Afghanistan since 2004. The guide is intended to provide operating policies and procedures based on international standards for financial cooperatives and to comply with Islamic law. Each chapter includes a review of procedural requirements as well as template contracts and forms. The manual is available online from WOCCU’s website.
The US-based World Council of Credit Unions has launched a manual discussing how to establish and operate sharia-compliant credit unions in developing countries, which could help to broaden the Islamic finance industry's retail customer base. The council hopes the manual will help to develop Islamic credit unions across a wide range of markets. The guide is considered complete but the council also recognises that this is an ongoing project as Islamic finance spreads to other credit union systems. The council used its nine-year experience establishing cooperatives in Afghanistan to create a manual that follows Islamic principles. According to the council, there are now 30 sharia-compliant credit unions in Afghanistan, comprising the world's youngest credit union movement and the only one to claim full compliance with Islamic law.
Madison-based World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) has received a $60.5 million federal contract to expand credit union services in southern and eastern Afghanistan.