Kuala Lumpur, 17 January 2013 - The Islamic Financial Services Board is currently in the midst of preparing an Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) Stability Report, which is scheduled to be published in May 2013.

Against the backdrop of a slow economic recovery in crisis countries, and continued turmoil in the global economy, the Roundtable will focus on key issues affecting the IFSI. The IFSI Stability Report 2013 aims to achieve the following objectives:

(i) To highlight the growth trend and challenges faced by the IFSI post-crisis,

(ii) To update the progress on various financial initiatives undertaken to promote global financial stability and the impact on the IFSI,

(iii) To review the progress and development of building blocks identified in the IFSB-IRTI-IDB Islamic Finance and Global Stability Report 2010* which are within the mandate of the IFSB,

(iv) To identify emerging issues that could affect the stability of the IFSI moving forward.

For this purpose, the IFSB is organising a Roundtable on the Islamic Financial Services Industry Stability Draft Report on 21 January 2013 at Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to obtain constructive feedback from the industry stakeholders on the draft report. This is to ensure its relevance in contributing towards the stability of the IFSI.

The full-day Roundtable will be divided into five sessions, which are:

(a) Development of the Global IFSI

(b) Islamic Finance and the Changing of the Global Financial Architecture

(c) Progress in Promoting the Resilience and Stability of the IFSI

(d) The Islamic Financial Stability Forum

(e) Emerging Issues in Financial Stability

The principal speakers will be:

Professor Dr. Volker Nienhaus, Visiting Professor, University of Reading, United Kingdom, and IFSB Consultant

(ii) Baljeet Kaur Grewal, Managing Director & Vice Chairman, KFH Research Ltd.

(iii) Noor Ashikin Ismail, Member of Secretariat, Technical and Research, IFSB

(iv) Dr. Ronald Rulindo, Member of Secretariat, Technical and Research, IFSB

More information on the Roundtable can be obtained at the IFSB website, www.ifsb.org or by contacting the Secretariat at ifsb_sec@ifsb.org.

About the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB)
The IFSB is an international standard-setting organisation that promotes and enhances the soundness and stability of the Islamic financial services industry by issuing global prudential standards and guiding principles for the industry, broadly defined to include banking, capital markets and insurance sectors. The IFSB also conducts research and coordinates initiatives on industry-related issues, as well as organises roundtables, seminars and conferences for regulators and industry stakeholders. Towards this end, the IFSB works closely with relevant international, regional and national organisations, research/educational institutions and market players.

The members of the IFSB comprise regulatory and supervisory authorities, international inter-governmental organisations and market players, professional firms and industry associations.

For more information about the IFSB, please visit www.ifsb.org.

* The Islamic Finance and Global Stability Report

The Report was jointly published by the IFSB and the Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank (IRTI-IDB) in April 2010, as a result of a Task Force on Islamic Finance and Global Financial Stability, comprising an international group of eminent scholars, practitioners and experts in Islamic finance and chaired by H.E. Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. The Task Force was formed in response to the recommendations of the Forum of the Global Financial Crisis and its Impact on the Islamic Financial Industry organised by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group in October 2008.

The Report can be downloaded from the IFSB website - http://www.ifsb.org/docs/IFSB-IRTI-IDB2010.pdf

© Press Release 2013