Forty years on from the tentative beginnings of Islamic banking in the UK, the country’s fledgling sharia-compliant banks have yet to make significant inroads with Muslim or non-Muslim customers. The Islamic banks that remain in the market are seeking to bolster their credentials by playing up their ethical finance credentials, while competing on price with their conventional counterparts in specific market segments.
The Banker’s 2022 Top Islamic Financial Institutions ranking confirms that, despite the presence of Islamic banks in all regions of the world, sharia-compliant finance remains largely a Middle Eastern and Asian phenomenon, with the two regions accounting for 97% of total assets worldwide. Europe, the next largest market, accounts for 1.8% of the total asset base, largely thanks to activity in Turkey, home to the world’s eighth largest Muslim population.
