Islamic Finance

These are exciting times for the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as the decline in oil revenues is forcing them to finally make dramatic changes to their oil-based economies.

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.

Global Finance magazine profiles the best Islamic Financial Institutions of 2016

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

QIB controls 43.5% of the Islamic banking market share in Qatar and 11.5% of the overall market and says that the long-term growth prospects remain promising.

Still finding its way onto the broader global stage, Islamic finance is expanding its reach and rising to new heights in delivering added value to consumer and business markets alike.

Still finding its way onto the broader global stage, Islamic finance is expanding its reach and rising to new heights in delivering added value to consumer and business markets alike.

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.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is learning to speak Arabic.

By any measure QNB has major ambitions. It is the largest bank in Qatar and one of the leading financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa. It does not stop there. QNB has set its sights on becoming a global bank by 2030. QNB’s group chief executive discusses with Global Finance the regional downturn, success in Africa and its plans for a global presence.

Changing fortunes in the region’s oil-rich economies have made the secretive world of sovereign wealth fund asset allocation even more opaque. 

Saudi bank Al Rajhi retains its crown in this year’s rankings.

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.

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2015 — Global Finance has announced its ranking of the Safest Islamic Financial Institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council as part of an exclusive survey to be published in the November 2015 issue. Banks were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings—from Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch—and total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide.

Winners List

There is no lack of demand for shariah-compliant financing, according to Mukhtar Hussain, deputy chairman and CEO of HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad.

Cryptocurrencies, unlike fiat money, are, by definition, more a commodity than a pure currency, giving them compelling appeal for Islamic finance—because renting a commodity is in line with the principles of shariah, unlike lending based on interest.

Country Report | Turkey - Islamic Finance
Officials in Turkey have long declared their intentions to transform Istanbul into an international financial center. Islamic finance could be the key to making that goal a reality.