Monday, May 07, 2007

DBS launches Islamic Bank of Asia, Islamic banking as ethical banking

DBS launches Islamic Bank of Asia

DBS Group Holdings Ltd., the largest bank in Singapore by assets, launched the Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia). It received the first license for Islamic banking in Singapore back in March. The Shari'ah board will be made up of Sh. Nizam Mohammad Saleh Yaqouby, Sh. Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari, Dr. Abdul Sattar Abdul Kareem Abu Ghuddah and Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar. DBS received a license for Islamic banking in Dubai last year.

Islamic banking - a new mode of ethical finance

I have highlighted several times on this blog the similarities between Islamic banking/finance/investment and ethical/socially responsible banking/finance/investment. An article in ArabianBusiness.com quotes the manager of strategic planning at Dubai Bank, Kafil Bader: ""Islamic banking has two edges to it - it is Islamic banking, but it is also ethical banking, which has been in the West for a long time now [...] If you look at some of our Western counterparts they have offshoots or subsidiaries in ethical banking, and they don't invest in some of the arms areas or the defence industry. Islamic banking undoubtedly has the same sort of value sets." Afaq Khan, the global CEO for Islamic banking at Standard Chartered agrees with this and elaborates: "The non-Muslims who are looking at the Islamic solution are saying that because it is belief-based, it must be more equitable to them, because there is a third party, the Sharia board, looking at it [...] Because it is based on a religion, they consider that there must be equity in this contract."

Other News

Islamic banking is also growing in Canada.

Demand for Islamic mortgages rising in the U.K.

The Muslim market in the U.S. estimated at $170 billion.

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