Islamic Finance and Economics

Gulf States See FinTech as Next Step in Expansion of Sharia Finance

January 03, 2019

Arab Gulf Islamic regimes see FinTech - blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and other digitized technologies for financial services - as the new frontier in the regional and global expansion of the sharia-compliant/compatible financial industry.
OIC Bank Seeks Spread of Islamic Finance Through Blockchain

January 03, 2019

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Islamic Development Bank Group is developing financial technology tools customized for sharia compliance, seeking to use blockchain and cryptocurrency for more rapid globalization of sharia compliant/compatible banking and finance.
Swiss Firm Becomes Sharia-Compliant

December 14, 2018

A major player in the Swiss cryptocurrency ecosystem has secured Islamic certification of its digital currency as sharia-compliant and announced plans to launch a crypto exchange endorsed by Bahrain’s Sharia Review Board.
UAE Firm Prepares to Launch Islamic Crypto Exchange

December 13, 2018

A firm based in the United Arab Emirates has announced plans for a 2019 launch of a sharia-compliant crypto-currency exchange, a move designed to bring crypto currency into the rapidly growing Islamic finance market whose current global assets are estimated to grow from $2.2 trillion in 2018 to $3.8 trillion in 2022.
Islamic Bank Plans Bonds for Social Responsibility, Block Chain

December 10, 2018

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the multilateral financing arm of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has announced work with the International Sharia Research Academy for Islamic Finance, to design sharia-compliant bonds marketed as socially conscious finance, aiming at retail investors and utilizing block-chain technology.
Regulatory Advantages Add to Sharia Banking Growth in UK

December 10, 2018

Sharia-compliant retail banks in the UK are demonstrating comparatively strong growth among non-Muslim banking customers, given the comparative advantages created by Islamic finance's exclusion from standard regulatory practices imposed on the non-sharia banks in the UK.
BoE Creates Liquidity Facility for Sharia Finance

December 05, 2018

The Bank of England (BoE) is creating a Sharia Compliant Facility, an alternative liquidity facility that will permit banks to hold BoE reserves in conformity with Islamic law, a move intended to bolster London as a global Islamic financial center.
OIC Bank Pushes for Sharia Finance to Achieve SDGs

December 05, 2018

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Islamic Development Bank was active at the opening of the UN General Assembly in pushing for the integration of sharia-compliant/compatible finance to attract private-sector stakeholders in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Group Launches Sharia-Compliant Digital Banking Service in Germany

December 04, 2018

Bahrain’s Al-Baraka Bank Group is launching sharia-compliant digital banking services in Germany via its Turkish subsidiary, aiming to capture market share with Germany’s Muslim population as the gateway for expanding Islamic finance and banking across Europe.
Saudi-Uzbek Agreement Expands Sharia Finance in Central Asia

December 03, 2018

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is expanding its influence in Central Asia through a decision by the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector to extend credit lines to Uzbekistan banks for sharia-compliant/compatible banking and financial services in Central Asia’s most populous country.