05.10.2011 - Qatar: Boosting Islamic finance
The first sale of an Islamic finance portfolio since Qatar’s decision to ban conventional lenders from conducting sharia-compliant banking operations is a harbinger of what’s to come as the Islamic finance sector begins to benefit from the ruling. The domestic segment, however, may have to contend with greater competition from foreign Islamic banks keen to enter the lucrative market. In August the International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) sold its Islamic banking retail operations to Barwa Bank in a sale that included IBQ’s Al Yusr retail loans and deposit account portfolios, the two Al Yusr branches and a transfer of employees to Barwa Bank..............................................Full Article: Source
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