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Bahrain: 'No authentic data on Islamic banks' size'

Despite the fact that the Islamic banking industry has grown significantly over the last two decades, there remains a shortage of authentic data on the size, growth and performance of each of the institutions involved and the product range they offer, according to a latest report.

BMB Islamic, a leading provider of Sharia structuring and advisory services, yesterday launched the Global Islamic Finance Report 2010 (GIFR 2010), the first fully comprehensive and authoritative account of Islamic banking and finance to date.

"In the last 10 years, the Islamic banking and finance industry has become an integral part of the global financial system. The increasing demand for Sharia-compliant products has attracted the interest of conventional institutions, which have started their own activities in this field," the report said.

GIFR 2010 brings a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of the global size of the Islamic financial industry identifying its growth potential, the institutions involved and the products available. With contributions from over 30 leading Islamic banking and finance experts from around the world, the report is aimed to be of practical use to all industry practitioners, including lawyers, Shari'a scholars, regulators, policymakers, researchers and academics in identifying how Islamic banking and finance can maximise their future potential.

GIFR provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of this vastly expanding industry as an alternative to the Western interest-based practice and maps out how the Islamic financial industry can engage and encompass all strata of society.

"GIFR 2010 is the first of what will be an authoritative annual account of Islamic banking and finance which is at once scholarly, robust and professionally rigorous. It aims to provide the most accurate figures on the size and growth of the market, with global, regional, institutional and product-level coverage.

We believe it is the first such attempt and is bound to be a trend setter in the Islamic banking and finance industry," said Dr Humayon Dar, CEO of BMB Islamic and Editor in Chief of GIFR 2010.
"The Global Islamic Finance Report is an excellent reference guide providing an in-depth analysis of all facets of Islamic finance, encompassing the whole spectrum from investment banking, capital markets, wealth management, retail banking and takaful across the different markets all combined in one unique publication. A fantastic industry resource that is timely and has depth of coverage that includes product innovation, new risk management techniques and provides an update on secular and frontier markets. Definitely one of the best reference materials available," said Sohail Jaffer, partner in FWU Group, a leading product designer in the financial services sector.

"We are glad to announce our support of the GIFR report, knowing that the publisher is taking a major step forward in the Islamic finance industry and to convey any knowledge in this regard," added Nazzem Yaghmour of Path Solutions, a worldwide Islamic banking software provider.

BMB Islamic is a global Sharia advisory and structuring firm based in London. Offering Sharia advisory services in the field of Islamic Finance.

BMB Islamic has been consistently acknowledged as an industry leader having been recently awarded by Islamic Finance News as the 'Best Sharia Advisory Firm 2008'. Prior to this, the team won the Euromoney award for best 'Islamic Assurance and Advisory Services' for two consecutive years.

By Mahmood Rafique

© Bahrain Tribune 2010

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