From Efinancialnews.com: Lawyers are calling for greater due diligence and disclosure in the Islamic bond market as the first default in the Gulf region highlights uncertainties for investors.…….Full Article (Subscription Required) : Source

From Efinancialnews.com: Investment in sharia funds has grown by 20% a year since 2003, according to asset manager State Street, which estimates Islamic financial institutions now manage more than $500bn. Despite this rapid growth, institutional Islamic investors have been slow to commit to western “sustainable investment” models.…….Full Article(Subscription Required): Source

From Business24-7.ae: Dubai Islamic Bank’s (DIB) decision to offer property mortgages of up to 90 per cent of value may add more risk to its real estate portfolio, analysts said.

DIB this month announced 90 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) financing for properties across the UAE……..Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Emirates NBD is close to securing a Dh3.5 billion ($US953 million) government cash injection that will allow the UAE’s largest lender to meet new capital adequacy targets set by the Central Bank late last year.

Most of the cash is expected to come from the Government of Dubai, which owns 56.6 per cent of Emirates NBD through the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), its investment arm……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: National Bank of Kuwait, the country’s biggest bank by assets, does not have any exposure to Saudi Arabia’s troubled groups Saad and Al Gosaibi, two newspapers said on Monday.

An official at NBK denied having a relation with both Saad and Al Gosaibi groups, local daily Awan said without identifying the official……..Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The UAE plans to guarantee bank bond sales, intensifying efforts to shore up the financial system after pledging Dh120 billion ($33 billion) to boost liquidity in the Arab world’s second biggest economy.

The proposed law, which would allow the government to guarantee bonds, medium-term notes, syndicated loans and commercial paper, is expected to be discussed this week and will “give banks an extra arm to extend credit,” central bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi said in an interview in Basel, Switzerland, yesterday……..Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: The UAE has announced plans to tackle rising liquidity issues by adding a gilt edged guarantee from the government, thereby making bank bonds, medium-term notes, syndicated loans and commercial paper more attractive to international and local investors.

The UAE financial sector faces a shortage of funds and underlying conditions are expected to worsen with the number of non-performing loans continue to rise into 2010……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The debt restructurings of privately-owned Saudi groups Saad and Algosaibi could curtail international lending to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, banking sources said.

The Saudi problems come after similar issues in Kuwait, and companies in the Gulf region may now face problems refinancing syndicated or bilateral loans, bankers say, as fears spread they are facing structural debt problems……..Full Article: Source

From Islamonline.net: Pakistan’s six Islamic banks are going to set up an Islamic inter-bank price market in order to stop relying on interest-based conventional banks in meeting their short-term funds requirements.

“Things are almost finalized and an official announcement in this regard will soon be made,” Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, head of Product Development Shari`ah Compliance at Meezan Islamic Bank, Pakistan’s first full-fledged Islamic bank, told IslamOnline.net on Monday, June 29……..Full Article: Source

From Efinancialnews.com: The Islamic finance market is witnessing a wave of innovation as lawyers and financial institutions develop products in the face of growing investor demand.…….Full Article(Subscription Required): Source

From Bna.bh: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al Salam Islamic securities has been fully subscribed.
Subscriptions worth BD6 million were received for the BD6 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Banks in the United Arab Emirates have “significant” exposure to Saudi Arabia’s troubled Saad Group and Algosaibi conglomerates, the UAE central bank governor told Reuters on Monday.

Speaking in the Swiss city of Basel, Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suweidi said the Saudi central bank could not keep its freeze on accounts linked to the two firms forever and that Gulf countries must find a common and transparent solution to this issue as they are all affected……..Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Private sector investors yesterday agreed to sell their 49 per cent stake in the Emirates Industrial Bank (EIB) to the Federal Government.

The Ministry of Finance previously owned 51 per cent of the bank and the government now becomes the sole owner. A number of investors held 49 per cent of the stake, who agreed unanimously to the sale……..Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: Saudi lender Riyad Bank 1010.SE said on Monday it would provide up to 1.4 billion riyals ($373 million) in financing for buyers into a property project partly led by Egypt’s Talaat Moustafa Group.

The bank signed an agreement on Sunday with Saudi-based property developer Thabat under which the lender will design Islamic-compliant packages for buyers into a project worth 6 billion riyals in the capital Riyadh……..Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: The Saudi economy is forecast to shrink by 1.2 percent in 2009, despite a stronger market for oil and expanded government investment, Riyadh-based Samba Bank said on Monday.
The recovery of oil prices to above $60 a barrel and a forecast 24-percent hike in government spending is not enough to offset a sharp slowdown in private sector activity, the bank said in its mid-year report on the economy of the world’s leading oil exporter……..Full Article: Source

From Asianinvestor.net: Russell Investments and Jadwa Investment have signed an agreement to launch a sharia-compliant Russell-Jadwa Shariah Index series, which will become live within the next few weeks.

The Russell-Jadwa Index series will be screened from the 10,000-stock Russell Global Index universe. It will contain more than 2,700 stocks from more than 60 countries……..Full Article (Subscription Required): Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Standard Chartered Bank’s Islamic finance arm Saadiq took the lead with the most awards at The Asset Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2009.
The bank was among the top winners, winning nine awards to reinforce its position as the leading bank for Islamic finance at the awards in Malaysia hosted by The Asset magazine……..Full Article: Source

From Chosun.com: A growing number of Korean banks have been raising funds in Malaysia since early last year when the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis began to shake the world.
The Korean government-backed Hana Bank issued US$284 million worth of bonds in Malaysia on June 22, and in February the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) issued $60 million worth of three-year maturity bonds in the Southeast Asian nation……..Full Article: Source

From Analyst-network.com: How Shari’a-compliant finance is preparing the next wave of Enrons. When a pro-terrorist organization announces its intention to launch a financial jihad against the West, it is well worth learning their methods.
More significant than the promotion of a religious pseudo-financial scheme is the possibility their largely unregulated practices could release a new wave of toxic assets into the wider economy and trigger a series of small-scale Enrons……..Full Article: Source