10 February 2015
Bahrain based International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) co-hosted a  workshop in London last Friday to raise awareness of IIFM's recently launched Master Collateralized Murabahah Agreement (MCM Agreement).

Attendees at the event, including bankers, lawyers and other market participants  heard presentations and panel discussion on how the MCM Agreement can be used between financial institutions to facilitate liquidity management through Shari'ah compliant transactions. The panellists noted how the agreement allows Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) as well as corporates and other institutions to be able to better utilise their Sukuk Portfolios and other approved Islamic instruments such as equities.

David Hiscock, introducing the session commented: "ICMA has a long history of successfully introducing standardisation into repo markets, notably through the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (GMRA), and promoting a wider understanding of repo and collateral; in line with this we commend IIFM on their production of this new master agreement".

Speaking at the event Mr. Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of IIFM said: "this standard documentation is culmination of efforts by a number of stakeholders to develop a unified template which, at the moment, is the best possible Islamic alternative to Repo. We are thankful to ICMA for hosting this timely workshop to create awareness among our respective members and the wider Islamic finance community."

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About International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
ICMA represents a broad range of capital market interests including global investment banks and smaller regional banks, as well as asset managers, exchanges, central banks, law firms and other professional advisers. It has over 470 member firms located in 55 countries worldwide, including the Middle East and Asia. ICMA's market conventions and standards have been the pillars of the international debt market for almost 50 years.

For more information, visit http://www.icmagroup.org/.

About International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM)
IIFM is a neutral and non-profit Islamic finance industry standard-setting organization and its primary focus lies in the standardization of Islamic financial contracts, products and related processes at the global level. IIFM also contributes in the development of Islamic Capital & Money Market by organizing specialized industry seminars, workshops and consultative meetings as well as research on global Sukuk market.  

IIFM was founded with the collective efforts of the Central Bank of Bahrain, Islamic Development Bank (a multilateral institution based in Saudi Arabia), Autoriti Monetari (i.e. Monetary Authority) Brunei Darussalam, Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia (delegated to Labuan Financial Services Authority) and the Central Bank of Sudan.  Besides the founding members, IIFM is supported by other jurisdictional members such as State Bank of Pakistan, Dubai International Financial Centre, Indonesia Financial Services Authority and a number of regional and international financial institutions, law firms and other market participants.

To date IIFM has published number of key Standard Master Agreements, including:
 
•IIFM Master Collateralized Murabahah Agreement & its Operational Guidance Memorandum
•Interbank Unrestricted Master Investment Wakalah Agreement & its Operational Guidance Memorandum
•ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut (Hedging) Master Agreement & Explanatory Memorandum
•Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) Standard Documentation (Single Sale Structure)
•Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) Standard Documentation (Two Sale Structure)
•Master Agreements for Treasury Placement & Structure Memorandum

IIFM is also in the process of developing several important documentation and product standards related to the Islamic financial market. It has also published global Sukuk reports (first, second and third editions) and organized a number of seminar and workshops.

International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) Press Contact:
Usman Naseer
+973 17500161
usman.naseer@iifm.net

International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Press Contacts:
Allan Malvar    
+44 20 7213 0322  
+44 7738 696 451   
allan.malvar@icmagroup.org 

Margaret Wilkinson
+44 20 7213 0323
+44 7931 100 499
margaret.wilkinson@icmagroup.org

© Press Release 2015