From Tradearabia.com: Annual growth in Saudi Arabia’s M3 money supply fell to 16.4 per cent in June, from 16.9 per cent in May, while bank loans to the private sector increased, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) website carried data showing a money supply of 1 trillion riyals ($266.7 billion) in June, compared to 986.8 billion riyals in May………..Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Two large Saudi banks sharply increased provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, official data showed yesterday, amid concerns over the solvency of some debt-laden private Saudi firms.

Banque Saudi Fransi booked 120 million Saudi riyals (Dh118 million) in provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, according to data released on the Saudi stock exchange………..Full Article: Source

From Forbes: Saudi Arabia’s first corporate bond market is unlikely to become a success without a sovereign bond and the removal of legal obstacles, even if Gulf issuances are slowly picking up.
The launch of the Gulf’s third bond trading platform after Bahrain and Nasdaq Dubai comes when troubles at several Saudi family-controlled firms are making headlines, underlining the problems of opacity of financial markets in the biggest Arab economy………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Shamil Bank, a unit of Bahrain-based Islamic lender Ithmaar, has minor exposures to troubled Saudi groups Saad and Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers (AHAB), it said in a statement on Thursday.

“Shamil Bank has a minor exposure, representing an almost negligible percentage of our assets, to Saudi-based Saad and Algosaibi groups”, chief executive Faisal Alalwan was cited in the statement………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) declined to comment on Thursday on whether it had any exposure to two Saudi groups, but said it would continue to take prudent provisions to maintain its balance sheet in the future.

A newspaper reported on Wednesday that ADIB had 245 million dirhams ($66.70 million) in exposure to troubled conglomerate Saad Group………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Qatar’s finance sector grew 36% in the 12 months up to March this year, accounting for QR10.4bn in the first-quarter GDP, a QNB Capital study shows.
The sector’s share in Qatar’s GDP in Q1, 2008 was QR7.64bn………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain based BMI Bank (BMI) has announced operating profits of BD2.1 million ($5.57 million) for the first six months of 2009, reflecting an increase of 20 per cent over the same period of 2008.

The results are subject to the approval of board of directors of the bank in a meeting scheduled for August 2009………..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The Ras Al Khaimah Government today completed the formal documentation signing for its landmark $400m Sukuk issue, with Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas and Liquidity House acting as joint bookrunners.
This issuance is both the first US dollar Sukuk issued by a Sovereign under a programme and by an emirate in the UAE………..Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: One of the UAE’s largest banks by market capitalisation, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) reported on Thursday first half profits of Dh658 million, 44 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

Despite reporting a record Dh1.55 billion in pre-provision profit, ADCB set Dh890 million in provisions, or allowances to cover possible investment losses and loan defaults………..Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: Emaar Properties is still considering an initial public offering for its India MGF joint venture, in line with its strategy announced last year, the Dubai-based developer said on Thursday.

Emaar, which is building the world’s tallest tower, said that while an IPO is being considered, it is still in the preliminary stage………..Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Dubai’s government said Wednesday it is creating a “Financial Support Fund” charged with managing and distributing $20 billion worth of state funds to cash-strapped companies in the emirate.
In a statement announcing the fund, Finance Department Director General Abdulrahman Al-Saleh said the payouts will be provided to government-linked companies as loans based on their projects’ “strategic and developmental importance” to the city-state………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The Support Fund’s board will be responsible for establishing general policy for the Fund and its subsidiaries and defining its projects and programmes, obtaining loans and financing, establishing institutions, companies, commercial projects and subsidiaries and buying and selling assets and equities.

It will also be responsible for recommending criteria for applicants requesting loans and proposing suitable applicants in the form of strategic projects or companies and recommending them to the Supreme Fiscal Committee (SFC)………Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Dubai is preparing to borrow a second US$10 billion (Dh36.73bn) to help government-related companies hit by the global recession, and yesterday announced it had set up an independent agency to manage the funds.

Dubai’s Department of Finance said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had issued a decree establishing the Dubai Financial Support Fund to administer the proceeds of Dubai’s $20bn bond programme………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The Ras Al Khaimah Government on Wednesday completed the formal documentation for its landmark $400 million (Dh1.46 billion) sukuk (Islamic bond) issue, with Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas and Liquidity House acting as joint bookrunners.

This issuance is both the first dollar sukuk issued by a sovereign and by an emirate in the UAE………Full Article: Source

From Middleeastevents.com: Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) posted a 14.5% increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

New company registrations for April to June 2009 climbed to 554, a marked 14.7% increase from last year’s registration and a further 13.6% increase compared to the first quarter of this year………Full Article: Source

Islamic real estate financing manual is an operational and strategic guide for Islamic real estate investments.
It has been designed in collaboration with Shari’a scholars, Islamic finance specialists and Islamic banks………Full Article: Source

Islamic derivatives manual is an operational and strategic guide for Islamic derivatives.
It has been designed in collaboration with Shari’a scholars, Islamic finance specialists and Islamic banks………Full Article: Source

Islamic investment banking manual is an operational and strategic guide for Islamic investment banking.
It has been designed in collaboration with Shari’a scholars, Islamic finance specialists and Islamic banks………Full Article: Source

Islamic banking operations manual is an operational level module designed for Islamic Banks to implement procedures for governing sources and utilization of funds.
It discusses various sources of funds including paidup capital and reserves, Islamic debt instruments, inter-bank borrowings and deposits/investment accounts in the light of Islamic principles………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Corporate defaults in Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s largest bond market, could hit the highest level this year since the 1997 financial crisis as firms struggle to repay borrowings, a rating agency said.

RAM Ratings, which says it rates about three quarters of corporate bonds in Malaysia worth 160 billion ringgit ($45.11 billion), said 4.8 percent of the issuers it rates could default in 2009 in the worse-case scenario, including Islamic bonds or sukuk………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 200 per cent.

Subscriptions worth BD10 million were received for the BD5 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Mauritius plans to offer sharia-compliant short-term liquidity tools within months as the Indian Ocean island seeks to become a new player in Islamic financing, the central bank governor said on Wednesday.

Mauritius, best known as a luxury-holiday destination, has developed its offshore banking sector in recent years and now wants to tap into the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry, seen as a major area of potential growth………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: QIC is getting into full-scale Islamic insurance by establishing a joint venture – Damman - in association with QIB and other strategic partners.
The QR200mn closed shareholding company is under formation, QIC deputy CEO Ali al-Mannai told Gulf Times yesterday………Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: The exposure of 30 Gulf banks to troubled Saudi conglomerates Saad Group and Al-Gosaibi create “significant credit risks for these banks” as the exposure is “significant but manageable”, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said on Wednesday.

S&P conducted a survey of banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and reported that exposure to the two Saudi groups is as high as 20 percent of the adjusted total equity of some banks………Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Two large Saudi banks sharply increased provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, official data showed on Wednesday, amid concerns over the solvency of some debt-laden private Saudi firms.
Banque Saudi Fransi booked SR120 million ($32 million) in provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, according to data released on the Saudi stock exchange………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: National Bank of Kuwait bought a 13.2 percent stake in Boubyan Bank for $295 million in an auction on Wednesday, becoming the largest shareholder in the Islamic lender.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), the Gulf Arab state’s sovereign wealth fund, was selling its 19.8 percent stake in Boubyan, or 231 million shares, in an auction in which Securities Group Co also competed………Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Prudential Fund Management Bhd (PFMB) expects the size of its shariah asset funds to register 30 percent growth for the rest of the year as in the first half of 2009.

Its syariah investment director, Zulkifli Ishak, said the growth would be contributed by its offshore mandates amid improving market and growing confidence in the Islamic finance industry………Full Article: Source

From Microfinancefocus.com: The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has approved two microfinance projects, one each in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan worth $15 million, said a statement by the bank.
The approval came following the meeting of the board of directors of the ISFD at the IDB headquarters in Jeddah on Tuesday. The ISFD was established after the Makkah Extraordinary Islamic Summit in 2005………Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Stocks deemed to comply with Islamic law delivered positive returns during the second quarter of 2009 according to Standard & Poor’s, the world’s leading index provider.

In the recently published S&P Shariah Report, the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index produced returns of 18.93% over the second quarter to June 30, 2009. This compares to the non-Shariah Global BMI Index, which returned 23.89% in the same period……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain’s central bank issued a formal warning to Bahrain Islamic Bank for not disclosing its quarterly net loss in a press release this month, it said in a letter to the bank published on Tuesday.

The central bank said it had ordered the lender to reissue its July 15 earnings release — which disclosed six month operating profits but not its second quarter net loss — but Bahrain Islamic had failed to comply with the order……..Full Article: Source

From Moneyweb.co.za: Kagiso Asset Management (KAM) has recently launched a new Islamic equity fund to increase their unit trust offering to four funds.
The new fund, named the Kagiso Islamic Equity Fund, is managed using the same investment process as the award winning Kagiso Equity Alpha Fund……..Full Article: Source

From Seekingalpha.com: Less than a month after Javelin Exchange Traded Shares (JETS) launched the first Shari’ah compliant ETF in the U.S., UM Financial and Jovian Capital are reportedly teaming up to do so in Canada.
The proposed ETF would track the S&P/TSX 60 Shariah Index, a benchmark introduced by Standard & Poor’s just last week……..Full Article: Source

From Khaleejtimes.com: The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, or IDB, is considering several options to raise funds as part of its resource mobilisation strategy in view of the rise in demand for financing in member countries impacted by the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

According to Mohammed Tariq, head of treasury at the IDB, the total funding requirement of the bank over the next 5 years, is currently estimated at $5 billion with the proceeds to be used primarily for project financing……..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 200%.
Subscriptions worth BD10m were received for the BD5m issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days……..Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Having been left largely unaffected by the international credit crisis that proved so damaging for financial systems in the West, Saudi Arabian banks have maintained their stability and will now profit from the trickle-down effect of the large government-driven infrastructural development projects.

The downturn has certainly had an impact on the economy though - the government predicts growth will be less than 1% in 2009 - but overall the Kingdom has fared better than other economies in the region. The banks in particular have shown resilience……..Full Article: Source

From Kuwaittimes.net: Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank second-quarter net profit fell 4.13 percent after it booked extra provisions against losses from the financial crisis that has hit banks across the Gulf Arab region.

“During the quarter, additional loan portfolio general provisions of 260 million dirhams were taken over and above the 220 million booked in the first quarter,” the bank said in a statement……..Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: A direct loan of Dh245 million (US$66.7m) by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to the Saad Group, the troubled Saudi conglomerate, sheds light for the first time on an elusive side of Saad’s borrowings: its use of bank finance to make investments, many of which declined in value during the financial crisis.

ADIB lent the money to Saad in 2007 to finance an investment in Makhazen Industrial Investments, a warehousing company in Abu Dhabi that never started operations, according to a document obtained by The National and verified by sources familiar with the deal……..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Ahlibank is staying focused on expansion in Qatar, adding more branches and ATMs and launching new products and services.
Ahlibank chief executive Salah Murad said at least two more branches – one under “Al Hilal” Islamic banking, might be opened in Qatar before the year-end……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Qatar’s Doha Bank said it has posted a second-quarter net profit of QR316.32 million ($86.8 million), up 3.6 per cent from the year-earlier period.

The company made a net profit of 646 million riyals in the first half of the year, compared with 579.3 million riyals a year earlier, the firm said in a statement on Qatar’s bourse website……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bank lending in Oman grew at its slowest rate of the year to 23.6 per cent in the first five months of 2009 as local banks continued to tighten up credit to the private sector, central bank data showed.

The combined credit extended by the local banks in the five-month period to May 2009, including loans to the government and public sector, rose to RO9.524 billion ($24.74 billion) from RO7.71 billion compared to the same period in 2008, the slowest growth since January this year……..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Commercialbank is managing its asset base to ensure diversity and quality and monitoring lending portfolio closely for better performance in the days ahead, Cb Group chief financial officer Nick Coleman said yesterday.
“Our non-performing loans remain at low levels overall but were higher in Q2 (at 1.46% than the first quarter) mainly due to the effect of the downturn on a small number of retail accounts,” Coleman said at the Cb investors’ meeting……..Full Article: Source

From Ptinews.com: A proposal to set up financial institutions based on the principles of Islamic banking to attract interest free deposits from Non Resident Keralites is being considered by the Kerala government, Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said today.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here,Isaac said the proposal was mooted by the industries department to attract investment to the state……..Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: Saudi Arabia’s SABB Takaful, said on Monday its net loss has increased by more than six folds during the second quarter of 2009 to 5.07 million Saudi riyals ($1.35 million) from 796,000 riyals ($211,773) a year earlier.

The company, which provides Islamic non-life insurance services, said its net loss for the first six months of 2009 doubled to 10.77 million riyals from 5.29 million riyals a year earlier……..Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: The Islamic finance industry is expected to more than quadruple in value within a decade from its current size of between $800 billion and $1 trillion, as it captures the savings of half of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, a new study predicted on Monday.

The industry, which offers Shariah-compliant financial services, is expected to grow 15-20 percent annually to more than $4 trillion in invested funds in about 8-10 years, Praesidium, a consulting company, and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), said in a report…….Full Article: Source

From Abc.az: The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of Islamic Development Bank, is ready to expand operations for development of world trade.

ITFC CEO Waleed Al Wohaib says that the IDB Group is scaling-up its operations to assist Organization of Islamic Co-operation member countries by an additional US$2.5 bn to increase its annual growth rate from 15% to 30% over the period 2009-2011…….Full Article: Source

From Forbes: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will most likely delay a $500 million Islamic bond issue until early September, its treasurer said on Monday.

‘The bank has not taken a decision yet but will most likely postpone the issuance until the first week of September as legal documents are not yet complete and due to the impending summer vacations,’ Mohammad Tariq told Reuters…….Full Article: Source

From Forbes: Malaysia’s central bank said on Monday it will issue 500 million ringgit ($141 million) of three-month murabaha bills on July 28.

Under a murabaha deal, an Islamic bank buys an asset from a third party and sells it to its customer at cost plus profit. This allows the bank to extend financing without charging interest, which is forbidden by Islamic law…….Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Though mainstream banking has been recognized as the malefactor of great wealth that developed hideous credit policies and took insane risks wrecking economies and hurting millions of families world over, and though Islamic banking has been recognized as the ideal solution by several jurisdictions, there is still no operational base for this institution.
Most of the existing Islamic financial institutions only deal with the administrative aspect of Islamic banking…….Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Arab banks should play a bigger role in domestic development to accelerate the recovery of regional economies from the repercussions of the global financial turbulence, said the Arab World’s top banker.

Regional banks have the capability to play that part given their massive financial resources of nearly $2.2 trillion (Dh8trn) and their expanding role in world markets, said Adnan Ahmed Yusuf , Chairman of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB)…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Bank loans in the UAE increased 0.5 per cent in June from May, while deposits slid 1.1 per cent, the central bank said on Monday.

Bank credit, excluding provisions for bad loans, increased to Dh1.01 trillion ($275 billion), after rising 0.6 per cent the month before, the bank said…….Full Article: Source