Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain: Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Refinitiv and iSecurities Hub signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to facilitate cooperation among the three institutions for the development of Shari’ah compliant treasury solutions, as well as, the development of a Sukuk platform.

The agreement is aimed at strengthening collaboration and foster joint initiatives and activities for the development of treasury solutions that is not only in compliance with Shari’ah but also in line with the spirit of Shari’ah. iSecurities Hub will also provide liquidity management solution to central banks encapsulating issuance of sovereign Sukuk, Shari’ah-compliant treasury bills, certificates of deposits and short term funding facilities among many products that are designed to improve central bank capabilities to improve the efficiency and performance of the Islamic banking sectors in their respective jurisdictions.

Once the solutions are developed, they will be certified by AAOIFI to be in compliance with the AAOIFI standards. Additionally, AAOIFI will also conduct periodic review and the Shari’ah audit of the transactions issued on the platform.

The certified platform and solutions will be connected with Refinitiv Eikon front end platform to have them available for all banks and financial institutions as a genuine solution replacing the traditional solutions available in the market. Additionally, AAOIFI will conduct ongoing review and audit of the platform and Sukuk issued on a periodic basis.

On the occasion of MOU signing ceremony Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari stated, "AAOIFI is pleased to partner with iSecurities Hub for the development of treasury solutions for the global Islamic banking and finance industry in partnership with Refinitiv. The role of AAOIFI is to provide certification of compliance with AAOIFI standards and in this regard it will be part of the project from initial stage to the completion and provide input as and where needed”.

Nadim Najjar, Managing Director, Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Data and Analytics, LSEG said: “Refinitiv is delighted to partner with AAOIFI and Isecurities Hub on this strategic initiative to devlop Shari’ah compliant treasury solutions. As the leading provider of trading and workflow solutions for the Islamic finance industry, we will integrate the solutions into our Islamic Deal Connect platform, providing our clients with a completely automated post-trade solution that uses straight through processing for their Islamic transactions”.   

Dr Scott Levy, Founder of isecuritiesHub stated “The limitations in the current  market for shari’ah compliant liquidity products has put Islamic banks at a disadvantage compared to its conventional competitors.  This initiative with AAOIFI and Refinitiv will deliver a full suite of treasury management and sukuk product options using the best available thought leadership and technologies setting a new standard for efficient market operations.  Refinitiv’s unique transaction execution capabilities are a natural fit for isecuritieshub;  the initiative will open new doors not only for treasury management but create a wider product development ecosystem for Islamic finance”.

About AAOIFI

AAOIFI, established in 1991 and based in Bahrain, is the leading international not-for-profit organization primarily responsible for development and issuance of standards for the global Islamic finance industry. AAOIFI has a total of 119 standards and technical pronouncements in issue in the areas of Shari’ah, accounting, auditing, ethics and governance for international Islamic finance. It is supported by over 160 active institutional members, including central banks and regulatory authorities, financial institutions, accounting and auditing firms, and legal firms, from over 45 countries.  Its standards and technical pronouncements are currently adopted / adapted in more than 40 countries and 47 jurisdication globally  and have introduced a progressive degree of harmonisation of international Islamic finance practices.

About Refintiv

Refinitiv, an LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) business, is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure. Refinitiv is powering participants across the global financial marketplace. We provide information, insights, and technology that enable customers to execute critical investing, trading and risk decisions with confidence. By combining a unique open platform with best-in-class data and expertise, we connect people with choice and opportunity – driving performance, innovation and growth for our customers and partners. For more information visit: www.refinitiv.com

About iSecurities Hub

iSecuritiesHub is the first of its kind Islamic fintech with unique offering designed to resolve the liquidity management issues in the Islamic finance industry. It offers 3 solutions:

  • iTreasuryHub: a digital treasury management platform allowing islamic banks to execute treasury deals instantly with end to end digital process in fully secure platform. 
  • iSukukHub: Smart Sukuk solution that is created to make the process of sukuk issuance, easier, faster, cheaper and more accessible.
  • iLiqudityHub: a digital liquidity management platform built to offer central banks a one stop solution to liquidity products that a central bank needs to manage their relationship with local Islamic banks, implement their monetary policy and carry out their role as lender of last resort in compliance with Shariah requirements and AAOIFI standards.