Islamic Finance and Economics

Islamic Bank Plans Bonds for Social Responsibility, Block Chain

December 10, 2018

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the multilateral financing arm of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has announced work with the International Sharia Research Academy for Islamic Finance, to design sharia-compliant bonds marketed as socially conscious finance, aiming at retail investors and utilizing block-chain technology.
Regulatory Advantages Add to Sharia Banking Growth in UK

December 10, 2018

Sharia-compliant retail banks in the UK are demonstrating comparatively strong growth among non-Muslim banking customers, given the comparative advantages created by Islamic finance's exclusion from standard regulatory practices imposed on the non-sharia banks in the UK.
BoE Creates Liquidity Facility for Sharia Finance

December 05, 2018

The Bank of England (BoE) is creating a Sharia Compliant Facility, an alternative liquidity facility that will permit banks to hold BoE reserves in conformity with Islamic law, a move intended to bolster London as a global Islamic financial center.
OIC Bank Pushes for Sharia Finance to Achieve SDGs

December 05, 2018

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Islamic Development Bank was active at the opening of the UN General Assembly in pushing for the integration of sharia-compliant/compatible finance to attract private-sector stakeholders in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Group Launches Sharia-Compliant Digital Banking Service in Germany

December 04, 2018

Bahrain’s Al-Baraka Bank Group is launching sharia-compliant digital banking services in Germany via its Turkish subsidiary, aiming to capture market share with Germany’s Muslim population as the gateway for expanding Islamic finance and banking across Europe.
Saudi-Uzbek Agreement Expands Sharia Finance in Central Asia

December 03, 2018

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is expanding its influence in Central Asia through a decision by the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector to extend credit lines to Uzbekistan banks for sharia-compliant/compatible banking and financial services in Central Asia’s most populous country.
Islamic Finance Expands Across Africa

November 30, 2018

Sharia-compliant/compatible finance is expanding rapidly across Africa, fueled by debt demand to support infrastructure and development needs and by the rapid growth of Africa's Muslim population that is largely unbanked.
Saudi Arabia Raises $2 Billion in Islamic Bonds

November 29, 2018

Saudi Arabia completed its external funding requirements for 2018 by raising $2 billion in Islamic bonds, a transaction aiming not only to cover the Islamic theocracy's budget deficit caused by lower prices in international oil markets, but also to reinforce the country's commitment to the global development of sharia-compliant financing instruments.
Islamic Banking Conference Focuses on Sustainable Growth

November 28, 2018

The Islamic theocratic kingdom of Bahrain announced that it will host the 25th annual World Islamic Banking Conference in November this year, convening the world’s largest gathering of Islamic finance and banking experts to discuss the theme “Islamic Finance & Sustainable Economic Growth in the Age of Disruption.”
Global Islamic Banking Assets Reach $1.69 Trillion

November 28, 2018

Data from the 21 countries comprising 95 percent of international financial activity in sharia-compliant/compatible assets and instruments indicate that global Islamic banking assets have now reached $1.69 trillion.