Manama, Bahrain – The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) has achieved a historic milestone in the advancement of the global Islamic finance sector with the official launch of its standardized documentation for Ijarah and Murabahah syndicated financing. This historic suite consists of fifteen (15) standard agreements, featuring nine (9) core agreements for the Ijarah framework and three (3) for Murabahah. The comprehensive launch also delivers a standard inter-financial (inter-creditor) agreement and two standard mandate letters, all supported by an explanatory memorandum and accompanying appendices. To ensure global accessibility, the entire suite of documentation has been fully translated into Arabic. This landmark achievement serves as a fundamental pillar to institutionalize and unify large-scale, cross-border and domestic financing transactions in strict compliance with the rules and principles of Shari’ah.

On this global occasion, Dr. Ahmed Rufai, IIFM Acting CEO and Head of Compliance and Standards Development, stated: "The launch of these standardized agreements for Ijarah and Murabahah syndicated financing marks a defining moment in the history of the global Islamic financial industry. This achievement directly benefits the industry worldwide, particularly IIFM member institutions, by providing unparalleled levels of Shari’ah and legal certainty. It drastically reduces transaction and operational costs, accelerates execution timelines for joint financing operations, and enhances the competitive reliability of the Islamic finance sector globally, opening entirely new horizons for financing major transactions." He added: "The documentation suites approved by the IIFM Shari’ah Board represent an excellent shift for the industry. By ending documentation fragmentation and unifying the legal architecture of syndicated financing contracts, these standards resolve decades of individual structural differences among financial institutions. This comprehensive framework stimulates capital flows by enabling financial institutions and international market participants to engage with full confidence in large-scale, cross-border transactions. Ultimately, it meets contemporary market demands through a flexible mechanism for managing capital assets and liquidity in strict alignment with syndicated banking governance."

The IIFM Board of Directors and the Secretariat express their deepest gratitude and high appreciation to the esteemed Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI), under the leadership of its Acting Director General, His Eminence Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, for the strategic financial support and generous grant provided by the Institute to execute this project. This contribution played a prominent and significant role in funding the project and developing these vital standards until their successful completion.

We also extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to our host country, the Kingdom of Bahrain. We highly value the Central Bank of Bahrain's steadfast and continuous support since IIFM's inception. This unwavering support has directly driven our remarkable accomplishments, cementing IIFM's leading global position in advancing the Islamic financial industry through standardizing documentation to foster unification, harmonization, and transparency.

IIFM extends its highest expressions of thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to the esteemed scholars of the IIFM Shari’ah Board. The Secretariat highly values their blessed efforts, sound jurisprudential guidance, and precise directives that accompanied all stages of drafting these standards. Their deep knowledge and dedication to ensuring legal and technical compliance with the rules and principles of Shari’ah have been instrumental in producing these standard documents with the highest levels of Shari’ah soundness and global reliability.

IIFM also expresses its sincere appreciation to the members of the dedicated Working Group. Their exceptional industry expertise, technical insights, and collaborative commitment during the comprehensive review process were vital in shaping these standards to address real market needs effectively.

Furthermore, IIFM extends its sincere appreciation to the external legal counsel, White & Case (W&C), who was appointed to draft these comprehensive standard agreements. W&C worked closely and tirelessly alongside Dr. Ahmed Rufai, Acting CEO and Head of Compliance and Standards Development at IIFM, and the entire IIFM team, namely, Mr. Babar Naseer, Mr. Zarrar Sayyed, and Mr. Tareq Fouad, to extensively craft and refine the legal architecture of these standards. This collaborative effort ensured that the documentation meets the highest international legal standards while perfectly, effectively and harmoniously incorporating complex Shari’ah requirements.

About:

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) was established under Royal Decree No. (23) of the Year 2002 of the Kingdom of Bahrain. It operates as a neutral, non-profit international Islamic infrastructure institution and a global standard-setting body for the Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI), focusing on the standardization of Shari’ah-compliant financial agreements and product templates.

Founded through the collective efforts of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia (Delegated to the Labuan Financial Services Authority), the Central Bank of Sudan, and the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank.  IIFM's core mission is to develop standardized global products, documentation, and best practices for the Islamic capital and money markets and trade finance segments.

Media Inquiries:
Media Contact: Tareq Fouad
Email: tareq.fouad@iifm.net
IIFM Membership Contact: Babar Naseer
Email: babar.naseer@iifm.net / membership@iifm.net
Website: www.iifm.net