Second meeting of U.K. Islamic Finance Expert Group

The U.K. Islamic Finance Expert Group (IFEG) chaired by Economic Minister Kitty Ussher had its second meeting where the focus was on enabling the Islamic retail market within the country. The IFEG release included the following statement:

"But there is also an important domestic market which we want to be accessible and open. There are nearly two million Muslims living in the UK and, thanks in part to legislative changes introduced by this Government, the Islamic mortgage market is now worth over £500 million. Going forward, the Government and industry want to continue to do all we can to see the retail market flourish and ensure that everyone - regardless of faith - has equal access to competitive financial products."

In addition to the focus on the retail market, the IFEG, which was set up largely to work on the feasibility of a U.K. government sukuk, the group is also working on how to support the wholesale Islamic finance market.