Latest articles from Islamic Finance

Leaner strategies help Qatari banks remain healthy

Leaner strategies help Qatari banks remain healthy

June 2, 2014

As the Qatari economy has contracted in recent years, the country's banks have developed their own niches in order to remain profitable in what has become an increasingly competitive market.

Islamic bank of year awards

Islamic Bank of the Year Awards 2014

June 2, 2014

As Islamic finance continues to grow and the market matures, the products and services it provides continue to innovate and impress. The Banker rewards the best of these in its Islamic Bank of the Year Awards 2014.

Kuwait progresses towards Islamic banking vision

Kuwait progresses towards Islamic banking vision

April 1, 2014

Islamic banking already has a strong presence in Kuwait. With a number of innovative lenders competing in the sector, and support and regulatory oversight from the country's central bank, it looks as though the industry can only become a more prominent fixture on the country's financial landscape.

Kuwait governor's Islamic finance agenda

February 14, 2014

Kuwait’s central bank governor Mohammad al-Hashel is at the forefront of new thinking on Islamic finance.

Filling the Islamic finance talent gap

January 2, 2014

The Banker's Middle East editor talks to the chief executive of Malaysia's Inceif about its efforts to address the human resources challenge facing the global Islamic finance industry. 

Hussein Al Qemzi

Noor CEO's big ambition for Islamic finance

November 1, 2013

Hussein Al Qemzi, group chief executive officer of Noor Investment Group and CEO of Noor Islamic Bank, believes that Islamic finance has the potential to evolve beyond its niche market and become the globally accepted norm in banking. But before it can do this, it must diversify its products and services, as well as achieve greater standardisation.

Ian Lancaster

Spreading the sharia success story

November 1, 2013

With sharia-compliant investments outperforming their 'conventional' counterparts, appetite for these products can only be expected to grow. But the industry is still too fragmented, according to Ian Lancaster of Cogent Asset Management, with a lack of cross-border connectivity preventing it from achieving critical mass.

Where does asset management fit in the Islamic finance picture?

November 1, 2013

The growth that has characterised the rise of the Islamic finance industry has thus far evaded the asset management segment of the market, with a dearth of institutions focused on the creation of sharia-compliant investment products. John A Sandwick of Islamic Wealth & Asset Management assesses the situation.

Brownfield investment: the Rabigh power plant (pictured) is one example of a project that was funded entirely by Islamic money

Islamic project financing: a health check

November 1, 2013

Three senior figures from the Islamic finance industry discuss how sharia-compliant project finance has fared in 2013 after a stellar decade, and look at its prospects – with a particular focus on sukuk – for 2014 and beyond.

Top Islamic banks ranking, 2013: Finding quality growth

November 1, 2013

Islamic banks are growing more quickly than their conventional counterparts, but not all of this growth is generating good returns.

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