The rise of Islamic banking has taken another important step forward with the recent successful £100m share offering by European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB). Initially aiming to raise £50m the offering was oversubscribed and increased to £100m.
EIIB was incorporated in the UK in January with the intention of becoming the first independent Islamic investment bank in Europe, established and managed on a wholly Sharia-compliant basis. The founding shareholders include Gulf-based individuals and institutions, including a number of Islamic banks, as well UK individuals and companies.
“We were delighted on behalf of EIIB with the response from investors, particularly in the short period that the private placement was available to potential subscribers,” said EIIB chairman Adnan Ahmed Yousif, a banker with almost 30 years of global banking experience.
EIIB intended to submit by the end of May 2005 an application for authorisation to the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) to conduct Islamic investment and wholesale banking, with a focus on the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The proposed range of products and services include the following Sharia-compliant investment banking activities: Islamic treasury, capital markets, asset management, trade finance, correspondent banking and private banking.
The successful EIIB issue reflects the growing demand for Islamic finance, an area which has only been lightly tapped by conventional banks and non-banking institutions in Europe.
