From Themalaysianinsider.com: First defaults of sukuk are set to expose the vulnerabilities of Islamic finance, with most investors expected to have no better legal redress than conventional bondholders as underlying assets have not been truly transferred to them.

The current financial and economic crisis is a first for the US$1 trillion (RM3.5 trillion) Islamic finance industry, which over the past few years has been spoilt by cheap oil money, and legal provisions and protection clauses in sukuk worth billions of dollars are being tested for the first time………Full Article: Source

From Forexyard.com: The outlook for Southeast Asia’s Islamic bond market this year is slightly brighter than seen three months ago, helped by funding for government stimulus and hopes for a global economic recovery, a Reuters poll shows.

The region, led by top market Malaysia, is forecast to see at least $5 billion of issuance this year, according to the poll which included bankers and rating agencies, up from the $4 billion estimated in a similar poll in April………Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat-In theory, Islamic banking is based upon the concept of making financial profit by taking risks through financial speculation, financial partnerships and other financial transactions that are permissible under Islamic law whilst at the same time avoiding incurring debt that represents a high risk both to the individual and to the market in general.

Such debts leads to wealth being amassed by the privileged few who are capable of offering sufficient guarantees of financial solvency whereas the overwhelming majority of middle class professionals and small and medium enterprises cannot afford to incur such debts and are therefore unable to finance their own projects and achieve the desired growth and development………Full Article: Source

From globalarabnetwork.com: While Islamic banks have not been immune to the effects of the global financial crisis, they are less exposed. It has been a tumultuous year for conventional banking, where an over-exposure to debt has contributed to recessions in the world’s largest and hitherto most stable economies.

The Islamic finance industry is also feeling the pinch, but the long-term prospects are not bad, particularly if it uses this opportunity to promote what distinguishes it from conventional banking, namely that interest rates (riba) and speculation are prohibited……….Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: The Commercial Bank of Qatar, the country’s largest private bank, saw provisions on bad loans and investments almost treble in the first half of the year as consumer debt defaults spread to the country with the highest GDP per capita in the Gulf.

The company reported its results as banks across the region come under increasing scrutiny because of rising loan defaults from customers unable to repay debt incurred during the boom years………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Commercial Bank of Dubai said that its operating profit in the first six months of 2009 rose 3.2% to Dhs599m compared to Dhs580m in the same period of 2008.
Net profit for the first half of 2009 amounted to Dhs502m as compared to Dhs566m a year earlier………Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Maybank Singapore will launch the first Islamic Term Deposit (Term Deposit-i) targeted at retail clients tomorrow, making it the first bank here to offer the Islamic banking product to that market segment.

As the first mover in the market, Term Deposit-i will pay profits upfront, the bank announced today, bucking the local trend of Islamic term deposits for high networth customers………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Bahrain Islamic Bank swung to a net loss in the second quarter as it booked provisions against bad loans after the high-profile defaults of two major Saudi companies, the bank said yesterday.

The bank’s net loss in the quarter ended June 30 was BD3.83 million (Dh37.31m, $10.16m) according to Reuters calculations, compared with a net profit of BD15.77m in the year-earlier quarter………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: TAIB Bank research has upgraded its outlook on National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) from underweight to neutral.

In a research note the analysts said: “Amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment, NBB witnessed marginal improvement in its financials in the first half of 2009………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The central bank for the United Arab Emirates was meeting commercial banks on Thursday to assess potential problems due to lending to two troubled Saudi family conglomerates, bankers said.

‘The meeting is on the invitation of the central bank, mainly to review exposure of UAE banks to the Saad/Algosaibi groups,’ an Abu Dhabi-based banker, who is attending the meeting, told Reuters………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (Aman) said it has made Dh19.9 million ($5.40 million) profit in the second quarter of 2009, a rise of 158 per cent compared with the same period of 2008.

Premium income exceeded Dh200 million at the end of June………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Qatar Islamic Bank, the country’s biggest lender complying with Islamic banking rules, said first-half profit dropped 5% from a year earlier without giving a reason for the decline.

Profit for the period ended June 30 was 812.6mn riyals ($223mn) compared with 853.5mn riyals a year earlier, according to a statement on the Doha bourse yesterday. Earnings per share fell to 3.98 riyals from 4.49………Full Article: Source