Author: Hennie van Greuning; Zamir Iqbal

Publisher: The World Bank

Keywords: International bank, Banking, Finance, and Investment, Islamic banks, Corporate governance, Asset-liability management, Asset portfolio, Financial statements, Market risks, Islamic financial institutions, Risk management, Islamic financial systems, Credit risk

Abstract:
Islamic finance is emerging as a rapidly growing part of the financial sector in the Islamic world and is not restricted to Islamic countries, but is spreading wherever there is a sizable Muslim community. According to some estimates, more than 250 financial institutions in over 45 countries practice some form of Islamic finance, and the industry has been growing at a rate of more than 15 percent annually for the past several years. The market's current annual turnover is estimated to be $70 billion, compared with a mere $5 billion in 1985, and is projected to hit the $100 billion mark by the turn of the century. Since the emergence of Islamic banks in the early 1970s, considerable research has been conducted, mainly focusing on the viability, design and operations of a "deposit-accepting" financial institution, which operates primarily on the basis of profit and loss partnerships rather than interest.

Subjects: Banking, Finance, and Investment; Education and Training