Darren Stubing

Islamic banks’ performance improved in 2022 while they expanded their footprints.

Middle Eastern institutions and economies push for sustainability.

Islamic financial institutions recorded a strong 2021 while continuing digital investments.

Regional banks and their partners go global for growth. 

After a year of challenges for the global FX market, the pace of change hasn’t slowed.

Islamic financial institutions coped well under pandemic conditions and found that prior tech investments paid off.

Qatari banking and other sectors stand to gain from the restoration of business. The emirate’s efforts to raise self-sufficiency will also help.  

Islamic financial institutions maintained good growth and higher profit in 2019, fortifying them for the difficult year ahead.

Rising gas output is giving Qatar’s economy some buoyancy.

Growth continues for Islamic financial institutions, helped by technology and product innovations.

The emirate’s deep pockets are helping it secure new and deeper trade and investment ties in an end run around the Saudi economic embargo.

Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Acting Group CEO Qatar National Bank (QNB), talks about the bank’s performance, compliance and expansion plans.

As Islamic banking spreads, service providers continue to develop new tools and products to meet the wide-ranging financial needs of the world’s Muslims.

Amid talks of a merger between is bank and two others, Omar Bouhadiba, managing director International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), talks about the domestic market, mitigating impacts of the blockade, banking innovations and what-if scenarios.

Qatar National Bank (QNB) CEO Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari says the bank’s sound economic fundamentals and regional diversification aspirations have helped it withstand the impact of Saudi sanctions on Qatar.

Qatar, cornered by neighbors in a blockade, has since become more economically diversified and self-sufficient—and as a result, more independent.        

As Qatar diversifies its economy away from oil revenues, QInvest CEO Tamim Al-Kawari says it sees strong growth potential across a range of industry sectors ranging from healthcare, agriculture and education to industrials.

Following a period of relatively subdued infrastructure and real estate activity, 2017 was a better year in the Middle East; and 2018 should record more improvement. Transport-related projects remain essential to the region’s growth, but the most crucial area remains ...

Arab Bank CEO Nemeh Sabbagh talks about growing with the region and reaching for opportunities throughout the world.

Shariah-compliant finance is growing in Turkey, and Ankara is planning new rules to help guide the market.

There are opportunities in Gulf-region property markets—if you know where to look.

Global Finance: What is Bidaya's business strategy? Mohamed Badat: Our business strategy involves leveraging innovation and digital infrastructure to directly reach customers in a secure, swift and seamless manner. Home finance and real estate has long been perceived as a ...

Each advance in technology opens doors for new approaches and ideas. This year’s innovators in finance show the range of problems being tackled.

Global Finance: What are the unique features of the Al Nuwair Deposit Account? And what about the Eservice Gold Account? Fahad Khaled Al-Mukhaizeem: Al-Nuwair deposit is an innovative investment deposit that promises clients with expected profit rates based on the ...

Islamic financial institutions continue to forge ahead in financial product innovation and process development, meeting conventional banks head-on in competition.

Our annual awards illustrate how shariah-compliant institutions are expanding into new markets, even in the non-Islamic West, and taking up the global call for “inclusive growth.”

Islamic finance has great opportunities to gain market share, says Endy Abdurrahman, CEO of Bank Muamalat Indonesia.

Dato’ Mohamed Rafique, head of Maybank’s Islamic Banking Group and CEO of Maybank Islamic Berhad, explains how Islamic finance is contributing to the bank’s growth.

Al Baraka Banking Group is expanding into new markets and seeking greater share in its home countries, says Adnan Ahmed Yousif, chairman and chief executive.

An interview with FAHAD ALOMRAN, NARMO CAPITAL, about succession planning for family businesses in the Middle East.

An interview with BASSEL GAMAL, QATAR ISLAMIC BANK, about growth and drawing new customers to Islamic banking.

Middle Eastern banks are looking for merger and acquisition opportunities to help them bolster their balance sheets and expand into new product areas and markets. 

An interview with ADEL EL-LABBAN, AHLI UNITED BANK, about banking in the Middle East.

An interview with ISAM AL SAGER, NATIONAL BANK OF KUWAIT, about the bank’s plans to grow both inside and outside its home market.

The need for economic diversification has never been greater, as governments around the Gulf look to shore up oil-depleted revenues and boost job prospects for their fast-growing populations.

An interview with Central Bank governor Mohammad Al-Hashel of the Central Bank of Kuwait on the country’s banking sector.

The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (Aaoifi) has issued a new shariah standard that allows Islamic financial institutions to use gold. 

Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, has issued new hedging and foreign exchange rules aimed at restoring stability to the ringgit, which has been under pressure for some time. However, the effort may well have the opposite effect. 

With the customer base growing, Islamic finance is drawing more banks and nonbank finance firms. Innovation can be a key differentiator.

Noor Bank focuses on select business segments and eyes the digital payment space that will offer some of the best opportunities over the next couple of years.

Retail demand for Islamic finance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region keeps increasing.  Growth areas include structured hedging and investment products, project and aviation finance, equity-linked and greenfield project sukuk.

Mohamed Azmeer, CEO of Amãna Bank, describes how Islamic principles require creativity to design products that meet customer needs. 

Maybank Islamic is developing outside Malaysia, establishing a footprint in the region. With a return on equity of 16%, achieved despite a capital ratio of 17%, the trick will be to sustain the bank’s bullish approach to investing despite the country’s economic downturn.

Islamic Finance | Bank Negara’s decision to halt issuing shariah-compliant bonds has left a big hole in the Islamic debt market. Filling the void will take time.

Trends | Islamic Finance
Islamic finance has seen tremendous growth over the past few decades.

Islamic Finance
Development in the Middle East, and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in particular, is being fueled by the growth of Islamic finance.

The Islamic finance industry has grown significantly over the past 15 years, and Harris Irfan's book, Heaven’s Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance gives a fine account of some the groundbreaking transactions that opened up the industry and made it more competitive.

Market Report | Islamic Finance
New structures and issuers and greater standardization are pushing issuance in the global sukuk market.