From Guardian: Islamic banking can no longer claim immunity from the global financial crisis now that it is hitting the industry’s main source of funding and property values in the Gulf Arab region.

The industry escaped the immediate fallout from the crisis as its ban on interest and its lack of structured products prevented it from investing in the assets that turned toxic for conventional banks….. Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Islamic finance industry, which still typically depends on retail deposits, needs to diversify its funding sources to fight off the financial crisis, bankerS said.

As liquidity has dried up in a region spoiled by high oil revenues, Islamic banks need to diversify their products and better manage the cash they have on their balance sheets, said David Pace, Chief Financial Officer at Bahrain-based Unicorn Investment Bank….. Full Article: Source

From Euromoney.com: The market is growing fast in Muslim countries and among Muslim communities. Its fuller development, Euromoney’s roundtable of experts suggests, depends on clearer views on objectives, further development of regulation and standardization of products and approaches.

The Shariah-compliant finance sector is growing fast but remains a niche market. Putting in place a financing system that is both Shariah compliant and produces a return for investors is a challenge….. Full Article: Source

From Guardia: Southeast Asian sharia banks are vulnerable to a similar crisis that hit conventional lenders as a push for market share creates acceptance of risky products forbidden by Islam, a religious adviser said on Wednesday.

Strict lending rules and rigorous demands for transparency have shut out opaque structures and shielded Islamic banks from the worst of the financial crisis….. Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: Stock markets the world over have been taking a major punishing as investors look for somewhere safe to put their money. Is Shari’ah investing still beating the credit crunch, asks Jahangir Aka of SEI Investments?

The exclusion of the financial sector and an aversion to debt continues to hold Islamic stocks in good position to avoid the credit squeeze. These attributes have created a resistance to the current crisis, though they cannot insulate completely….. Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, has been named “Most Outstanding Islamic Index Provider of the Year” at the 5th KLIFF Islamic Finance Awards 2008 held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The award honors the significant efforts and contributions of Dow Jones Indexes to the Islamic Finance industry and was presented by Y.B. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, minister of finance II of Malaysia….. Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Sharia compliant investment strategies should not be discounted despite a challenging third quarter, US asset manager SEI said in a report on Wednesday.

Islamic investments faced headwinds in the third quarter as commodity and energy prices dropped sharply and financial stocks rallied, but are still outperforming the market in the year to date….. Full Article: Source

From Istockanalyst.com: The Birmingham-based Islamic Bank of Britain is looking to expand after a successful trip to the Middle East to find development funding.

And while the amount raised may pale in comparison to the pounds 5.8 billion package Barclays got from Gulf investors, the bank says it will be using the money to expand in response to a huge increase in demand for its services….. Full Article: Source

From Asiaone.com: OCBC Bank yesterday said its full-fledged Islamic banking subsidiary in Malaysia has started operations with its first branch at Jaya One in Petaling Jaya.

OCBC Al-Amin Bank, as the unit is known, is licensed to offer a full range of services that comply with syariah, or Islamic, principles, including Islamic hire-purchase and syariah-compliant corporate finance activities….. Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: In line with its strategy to expand its services in the Northern Emirates, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the region’s leading Islamic bank, has announced today the inauguration of a new branch in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), taking the total number of branches in the UAE to 45.

The new state-of-the-art branch is part of ADIB’s aggressive drive to further expand its operations in the UAE and get even closer to its customers by providing them with efficient and hassle free access to the Bank’s Shari’a-compliant and innovative products. …. Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: The second edition of the French Islamic Finance Forum that took place in Paris on November 26th, welcomed some of the foremost sharia scholars in the world, highlighting the necessity to set up a genuine French-speaking sharia committee to advise on sharia-compliant operations in this region.

ACERFI, a non for-profit organisation, was thus officially launched during this event as the first French-speaking « Shariah Comittee for Islamic Finance » and has been announced by Sheikh Louqman Ingar, a sharia scholar that has already advised in the first experiment on the French overseas territory that occurred in June 2008 in La Réunion Island….. Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Darahim Capital is looking to set up a series of Sharia-compliant mutual funds from its headquarters in Bahrain early next year.

The company, which has applied for a licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain, hopes to be up and running by March and set up 10 to 12 funds which will have an aim of building assets under management of around $3.4 billion….. Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Al Salam Bank-Bahrain has partnered with Tadamon International Islamic Bank to acquire a leasehold interest in one of the most luxurious residential and commercial towers close to the Holy Mosque in Mecca, in a SR600 million ($158.7 million) deal.

This is the second such deal for Al Salam Bank-Bahrain as it recently announced a similar investment in the same field….. Full Article: Source