From Reuters: As Western regulators stress test top banks, Islamic finance wants to broaden its regulatory approach and improve disclosure rules amid concerns that unhealthy banks may have slipped under the radar.

Few Islamic financial firms have reported headline-grabbing losses so far, but the industry’s relatively modest size and opaque framework could mask more trouble than appearances suggest, bankers and lawyers say………Full Article: Source

From Guardian: Qatari state-related firms are expected to issue $3 billion to $4 billion in bonds in 2009 to refinance existing debt and fund new projects, after a government benchmark bond paved the way, a member of the State Finance Policy Committee said.
State and corporate issuers in the energy-exporting Gulf Arab region have raised more than $7 billion by issuing bonds over the last three months in a new trend as spreads have narrowed and demand has grown for high-grade emerging market bonds………Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Interest in Islamic finance is growing beyond the American-Muslim community because the recession has forced more people to question the nature of conventional debt and interest, said Hussam Qutub, a spokesman for Guidance Residential, which is based in Virginia.

The company has provided more than $1.5 billion in home financing to at least 6,000 customers in 23 states since it launched seven years ago. April was a record month. Guidance Residential, whose mortgages are backed by Freddie Mac, the government’s home-financing giant, signed 150 contracts………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: HSBC yesterday launched $100 million (Dh367m) HSBC Amanah Sukuk Fund in the UAE, offering mid to high single digit returns to investors, the bank said yesterday.

In a reply to Emirates Business, the bank said it’s confident of raising the required fund because “interest in sukuk among investors is high.”……..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Kuwait’s largest investment bank Global Investment House plans to sell its stake in Bahrain-based Islamic lender Salam Bank, offloading assets following a debt default earlier this year. The bank said in regulatory filings on Monday it aimed to sell the 14.1 percent stake in Salam by June 9 and would book profits in the second quarter.

Global is among the most prominent financial firms in the Gulf Arab region to face serious problems as credit conditions tightened during the financial crisis………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The banking industry may soon witness a wave of mergers and acquisitions amid changing conditions in the global and regional financial markets, said a study by a top financial industry expert.

Even though several domestic markets already have a consolidated banking sector, the picture changes on a regional level: no single bank stands out in the region as a whole, pointed out AT Kearney, one of the world’s leading management consulting firms in the financial industry, in a recent study examining GCC banks………Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Everyone’s been talking about how bank mergers are likely in the GCC soon. Amlak and Tamweel, the UAE’s two big mortgage lenders, have been dancing around a merger for a while, but ever since Emirates Bank merged with National Bank of Dubai to form Emirates NBD in 2007, no major bank mergers have materialised.

That hasn’t stopped people from talking about it. It’s getting to the point where it almost seems as if the investment banks (and the analysts who work for them) are trying to put bank mergers in the news because they know mergers mean business. And they need business right now………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The decision of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders on May 5 to select Riyadh as the location of the GCC Central Bank (GCB) was an unexpected surprise to the UAE and many experts who were following the negotiations.

However, the announcement by the UAE that it will pull out of the GCC monetary Union in protest against this decision was also equally unexpected………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: The chiefs of commercial banks are meeting today at the Qatar Central Bank (QCB), seeking more clarity on the government’s proposal to purchase their real estate portfolio, it is learnt.

Confirming the meeting, Doha Bank chief executive officer R Seetharaman said there was a need for clarity on the government’s offer………Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: The Saudi central bank has frozen the accounts of billionaire businessman Maan al-Sanea as the global financial crisis impacts businesses in the world’s leading oil exporter, bankers confirmed on Monday.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) sent letters to banks late last week ordering a freeze of accounts held by Sanea and members of his family, the bankers said, requesting anonymity………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Emirates Islamic Bank announced the opening of a new branch in Um Suqueim. This is yet another successful step taken by the bank as part of their dynamic plan to expand their entire branch network throughout the UAE.

Commenting on the opening, Mr. Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi, CEO Emirates Islamic Bank said: “Moving forward with our expansion plan is a top priority for EIB. We want to ensure that our products and services are always easily accessible to the customers and this further reflects our commitment toward that goal………Full Article: Source

From Todayszaman.com: The Development Bank of Turkey (TKB) plans to provide some $1 billion in loans for Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are feeling the worst of the global financial crisis.
KB General Manager Abdullah Çelik, who is in Ashkabad to attend the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said they will extend the loans before the end of this year. Çelik said they will sign a contract with IDB officials on June 3 for a $40 million loan for Turkish SMEs………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Regional property giant and master developer of the Palm islands trilogy, Nakheel, is to merge with the real estate arm of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) due to current market conditions.

“DMCC’s property-related operations have been integrated with Nakheel to better accommodate current market conditions and optimise resources and expertise,” Nakheel and DMCC said in a joint statement………Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: The Unicorn Global Private Equity Fund has taken a 70 per cent equity stake in Bahrain Maintenance and Diving Services (BMDS).
The acquisition was completed through the Fund’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Regional Energy Services Holding………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has announced the appointment of Abdullah Mohammad Al Awar as chief executive officer of DIFC Authority, one of the main bodies of DIFC.

Abdullah was previously managing director of DIFC Authority………Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Bursa Malaysia Bhd today announced the appointment of Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz as its global head of Islamic Capital Market (ICM).

In a statement here today, Bursa Malaysia said Raja Teh would be spearheading the expansion and development of the ICM infrastructure, products and services as well as the marketing of ICM products internationally………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) announced the appointment of Jeff Fallon as head of trade finance for Europe to further strengthen its trade finance services.

Fallon has extensive experience in trade finance with focus on the European and Middle East-North Africa (Mena) regions. ……..Full Article: Source

From Birminghampost.net: Birmingham will today play host to a conference looking at how the West Midlands can tap into the potential offered by the emerging multi-billion-pound Islamic finance market.

The half-day event, entitled Islamic Business: The Way Forward, brings together a range of speakers from the sector and will look at the potential for positioning Birmingham as an Islamic finance hub………Full Article: Source

From Legalbusinessonline.com: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) advocates that Islamic finance products shall receive similar regulatory treatments as the conventional finance products.

However, MAS has not opted to have a separate Islamic finance regulatory regime that exists in parallel with the conventional framework. In this regard, MAS serves as the driving force behind the change in the laws and regulations pertaining to the governance, validation and enhancement of Islamic finance transactions………Full Article: Source

From Sukuk.net: Al Jazeera Jobs reported a surge in the amount of Islamic Finance vacate Jobs in Kuwait during the month of April.

A spokesperson stated the alJazeera Jobs database maintained nearly 5000 open jobs in Kuwait, a 9% rise over the same period last year………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Visa, the world’s largest payments processing network, Al Rajhi Bank, a commercial banking services provider, and Microsoft have joined forces to provide financial solutions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that deploy advanced technology in their business operations.

Under the agreement, Al Rajhi will introduce a Visa-Microsoft Aamal credit card, which will become the first Visa Microsoft co-branded credit card in Saudi Arabia………Full Article: Source

From Islamfaqs: The economic philosophy of Islam has no concept of Riba (Interest) because according to Islam, Riba (Interest) is that curse in society, which accumulates money around handful of people, and it results inevitably in creating monopolies, opening doors for selfishness, greed, injustice and oppression.
Due to this reason, Islam renders Riba (Interest) as absolutely Un-allowed and strictly prohibits all types of interest-based transactions………Full Article: Source