Europe’s first Islamic retail bank is expected to be established in the UK early this year. Pending approval from the UK’s Financial Services Authority, a new institution – to be called the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) – plans to provide a full range of retail banking products and services on a wholly Shari’ah-compliant basis, primarily to the UK’s 1.8 million Muslims.
The new venture – sponsored by a group of prominent Gulf and UK investors, including major Islamic financial institutions – hopes to meet the demand for Islamic banking products not only in the UK but throughout Europe. Once a UK licence is obtained it can provide an effective banking passport across Europe, where research puts the Muslim population, outside of Turkey and the UK, at an estimated 13.8 million. France and Germany, with Muslim populations of 5.9 million and 3 million respectively, provide ready markets for Islamic financial services.
