The Top 500 Islamic financial institutions in the world have amassed sharia-compliant assets of $638.3bn, according to The Banker’s second comprehensive listing of the expanding Islamic finance industry.

The current turbulent marketplace will offer technology suppliers new opportunities in light of likely changes by Islamic finance regulators, says Jamil Hassan.

The global head of HSBC Amanah talks about the challenges of integrating Islamic banking into the global system, ranging from raising awareness of its validity to non-Muslim clients to developing a proactive regulatory framework. By Nabeel Shoaib.

In sharia financing, the concept of risk sharing replaces the traditional western model of debt-based finance, offering a potential way of reducing world credit problems in the future. By Joseph DiVanna.

Islamic finance is gaining ground as a viable alternative source of finance to Muslim and non-Muslim businesses and consumers, with innovation at the heart of this growing trend. By Joseph DiVanna.

Despite the volatility of the oil markets, it looks likely that Arab banks’ conservative strategies will insulate them from the worst effects of the global downturn. Writer Stephen Timewell.

In terms of aggregates, the key Latin American banks have grown significantly this year and Brazil is remaining at the forefront with impressive pre-tax profits. Writer Stephen Timewell.

Asian banks have avoided the worst of the credit crunch and shown steady economic growth. China is predictably the big winner, accounting for 41 of the Top 200 and dwarfing India’s aggregate sum. Writer Stephen Timewell.

Total assets among Russia’s banks have posted robust growth in excess of 50% and there have been some structural improvements, but banks remain vulnerable to sudden changes in the health of the national economy and are looking decidedly over concentrated. Writer Stephen Timewell.

UK banks may have taken significant hits on their profit and loss accounts as a result of the subprime crisis, but they have also strengthened their capital and balance sheets significantly.