World Islamic Banking Conference

25th World Islamic Banking Conference Announces 4th Series of WIBC Leaderboard to Foster Global Islamic Banking

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance, Muslim World, News

By Maeeshat News,

Top performing Islamic Financial Institutions from Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Turkey, UAE and Saudi Arabia are vying for the WIBC Awards recognizing the Best Performing Banks at the Global and Regional level.

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain: A testament to its vision of advancing the global Islamic banking industry, the 25th World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) will continue in its endeavor of enhancing the performance and quality of key Islamic financial institutions by means of the 4th WIBC Leaderboard.

Held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain and with the strategic partnership of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) will take place on November 26th, 27th & 28th at the ART Rotana Hotel in Amwaj Islands, Kingdom of Bahrain. A key highlight of the three-day forum will be the annually anticipated WIBC Performance Awards 2018, whereby industry leaders will be recognized for their excellence at the Gala Dinner on November 27, and the nominees of which have been already announced and can be viewed at: https://wibc2018.com/awards

Introduced in 2015 and forming the basis of the annual WIBC Performance Awards is the WIBC Leaderboard: a first-of-its-kind comprehensive assessment tool aimed at helping the Islamic finance industry to critically appraise the challenges and growth opportunities that lie ahead.

The WIBC Leaderboard ranks Islamic banks as compared to their key competitors at the global and regional levels, based on various robust financial and governance metrics. These metrics comprise: Financial Stability (Total Capital and Tier 1 Capital Ratios, Loan-Loss Reserves (LLR) to Gross Loans Ratio, Loan-Loss Reserves (LLR) to Non-Performing Loans (NPL) Ratio, Non-Performing Loans (NPL) to Gross Loans); Financial Performance (Return on Average Assets (ROAA), Return on Average Equity (ROAE), Cost-to-Income Ratio (CIR), Assets Growth) and Governance and Social Responsibility (Financial Disclosure Index, CSR Disclosure).

In addition to the individual metrics, banks will be ranked on the basis of an aggregate score, which forms the apex of the WIBC Leaderboard. This aggregate index holistically ranks entities on the basis of the aforementioned financial and governance measures. The data employed in creating the assessment framework has been sourced from the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI) and Orbis Bank Focus.

Top performing Islamic financial institutions will be vying for 2 categories of the awards: One Global Award and Three Regional Awards for each of the following world regions: GCC, Asia and Levant. Currently, top performing Islamic banks vying for the Global Award include: Kuwait Finance House (Kuwait); Al Rajhi Bank (Saudi Arabia); Jordan Islamic Bank (Jordan); Kuwait International Bank (Kuwait); Boubyan Bank (Kuwait); Ahli United Bank (Kuwait); Warba Bank (Kuwait); PT Bank Syariah BNI (Indonesia), Maybank Islamic Berhad (Malaysia) & Dubai Islamic Bank (UAE).

Introduced as part of the 2nd WIBC Leaderboard, The Governance & CSR Award (Corporate Social Responsibility) will be a key award constituting this year’s WIBC Performance Awards, the scores of which will be aggregated as per the CSR Index and the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI). The Governance and Social Responsibility variables are extracted from the Thomson Reuters database. The innovative 25th edition will also see an Award for the Fastest Growing Bank (in terms of asset growth) to recognize an Islamic financial institution that has expanded rapidly over the last year.

Confirmed partners at The 25th WIBC so far include: Casablanca Finance City Authority, Ithmaar Bank, Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), World Gold Council, Bank ABC, Bank of Khartoum-International, First Energy Bank, Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), DWF, Al Baraka Banking Group, Thomson Reuters, Path Solutions, Moody’s Investor Service, Emerico, The Perth Mint, WTS Dhruva Consultants, Baker McKenzie, Eiger Trading, Department for International Trade – British Embassy Bahrain, DDCAP, Fitch Ratings, Sadad & GPS.

The theme for the 25th WIBC – “Islamic Finance & Sustainable Economic Growth in the Age of Disruption” is in line with the conference’s steady vision to serve as a compass for the global Islamic finance and banking industry, with the three-day forum expected to draw participation from over 1300 global industry leaders, policy makers, innovators and stakeholders, all focused on generating breakthrough insights that help navigate through the complexities of the global financial system.

Global Islamic finance continues to live up to its reputation

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World

Manama, (IINA) – The World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC), considered by many as the Islamic financial services industry’s compass for over two decades, continues to live up to its reputation after officially announcing that its 22nd annual edition, which will take place from Dec. 1 to Dec. 3 in Manama, Bahrain, will provide industry leaders with a unique opportunity to critically assess Islamic finance’s 40-year history, Daily Sabah newspaper reported.

This coming December, regulators, CEOs, scholars and other leaders from the Middle East, East Asia, Africa and Europe will assess and reflect on the achievements, challenges and opportunities in the rapidly growing Islamic finance industry, which currently amounts to $2 trillion.

They will address the core question of how the current system can converge with its original proposition.Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, CEO of International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM); Noor Abid, board member of Kuwait Finance House Group, and Tirad al-Mahmoud, CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), are only a few of the pioneers who will address the landmark gathering of more than 1,500 attendees.

Regarding the question of convergence, Abid, a leading advisor to the Islamic finance industry for over two decades, said: “Islamic financial institutions IFIs need to structure their business models in such a way that the socioeconomic objectives go hand in hand with commercial and profitability goals.

He suggested the next steps: “One way forward for the development of Islamic finance based on its true principles would be to adopt some of the leading practices from the impact investment communities and incorporate integrated reported initiatives.”

International standard-setting organizations such as the Accounting and Auditing Organization for IFIs (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) have been formative in helping the industry develop a more integrated approach, coupling profitability and values.

However, while the relevant standard setters may issue appropriate frameworks or standards, it is essential to secure joint commitment from all stakeholders within the system. This is partly because of the challenges of adopting both international and industry standards.

The WIBC 2015 is set to gather all the key stakeholders – governments, regulatory bodies, central banks, leading Islamic banks, IFIs and multilateral bodies – to better understand how to wed standards to ensure global compliance with adherence to core values.

Another key discussion point to be touched on this December is financial inclusion. Indeed, Islamic finance has an opportunity at hand given that the vast majority of Muslims do not have access to a banking system. ADIB CEO Mahmoud said: “Islamic finance can also serve to increase financial inclusion for the 72 percent of Muslims who do not use banks. The challenge that lies ahead is that there has been no significant plan to reform Islamic banking with the aim of increasing financial inclusion.”