WIBC 2016 will focus on economic uncertainty

The 23rd World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) will focus on the theme of Economic Uncertainties: Vigilance & Growth this year. The event guides the global Islamic finance and banking industry, and aims to enable Islamic finance to converge, strengthen and develop into an ecosystem whilst equipping leaders with insights to navigate the global financial system.

Key features for WIBC 2016 include the CEO Power debate, involving powerhouses from the top Islamic financial institutions engaged in key strategic issues facing the industry; a governors’ power table; streams focused on banking leadership opportunities and asset management best practices; thought leadership from strategy consultants; and panel sessions focused on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship, the impact of innovation in financial technology (fintech); among other topics.

A key focus at WIBC 2016 is identifying ways in which Islamic finance can connect with the broader ethical finance industry and benefit from collaboration with other ethical finance sectors to support their common growth prospects – ESG (environmental, social and governance), SRI (socially responsible investment) and faith-based investing – as well as looking at community banking and microfinance to promote financial inclusion.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

• Dr Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
• HE Alexander Torshin, State Secretary – Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Russia
• HE Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain

The WIBC Leaderboard, a peer-to-peer assessment benchmark based on robust quantitiaive metrics, aims to promote greater transparency within the Islamic banking industry and feeds into the WIBC Awards. The Leaderboard provides industry participants with visual rankings of Islamic banks as compared to their peers at the global, regional and national levels, based on the following financial and governance metrics, using data collated from the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator and Bankscope:

• Financial stability: Total capital and tier 1 capital ratios, loan-loss reserves (LLR) to gross loans ratio, loan-loss reserves (LLR) to non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, non-performing loans (NPL) to gross loans
• Financial performance: return on average assets (ROAA), return on average equity (ROAE), cost-to-income ratio (CIR), assets growth
• Governance and social responsibility: Financial disclosure index, CSR disclosure

In 2015, WIBC hosted 1,300 delegates and 70 speakers from 50 countries, and witnessed the launch of eight intelligence reports by Thomson Reuters, EY, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, Toronto Financial Services Alliance, Middle East Global Advisors, and the Bank of Khartoum among others.

The team behind WIBC, Middle East Global Advisors, are also the conveners of the Global Ethical Finance Forum, in strategic partnership with the Scottish Government, and the co-organisers of the Responsible Finance Summit, in strategic partnership with Bank Negara Malaysia.

Interested?

The WIBC will be held from 5 to 7 December 2016 at the ART Rotana Hotel, Amwaj Islands, Kingdom of Bahrain. Register

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Bank Nizwa earns Best Performing Islamic Bank in Oman award at WIBC

In recognition of its role in spearheading the growth of Oman's Islamic finance industry, Bank Nizwa has won Best Performing Islamic Bank in Oman award at the 2015 World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) held in Bahrain. 

Bank Nizwa excelled in financial stability, financial performance, as well as governance and social responsibility, all part of the WIBC Leaderboard, an assessment tool specifically designed to gauge and list best performing banks.

Dr Jamil El Jaroudi, CEO of Bank Nizwa, said, "This win is another respected achievement for Bank Nizwa that demonstrates the determined efforts of the entire team to innovate and drive our growth, as well as that of Islamic finance in Oman.

"We will continue to elevate our performance and offer a competitive range of products and services that meet the evolving requirements of our expanding customer base."

The WIBC is the world's largest gathering of international Islamic banking and finance leaders. 

Interested?

View the full list of WIBC winners

5th World Islamic Banking Conference explores key themes and challenges

The 5th World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2014), held under the theme "Expanding the Boundaries of Islamic Finance: Complementing Domestic Growth with International Linkages”, was held in early June in Singapore.

The inaugural address by H.E Ravi Menon, Governor, Monetary Authority of Singapore on June 3 noted that Singapore's prospects in Islamic finance look bright, with more funds establishing themselves in the country, which is the only non-Muslim majority country among the top 15 countries for Islamic finance, it was reported in Channel NewsAsia on 3 June.

Speakers called for better cross-border connections in order to sustain momentum and penetrate further into new global markets, noted an article in TODAY newspaper on 2 June. 

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic said in a statement: “Islamic finance has further advanced its position as a mainstream value proposition with an increasingly global presence. That said, we as an industry still face many challenges of a new kid on the block...Mutual discussion and information sharing is all well and good but market traction and market share is where the rubber meets the road, where we find out how good we really are."

Among the issues to be addressed, Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said, are the needs to increase the scale of business locally, to prepare products and services to adapt and comply with more robust regulatory and risk frameworks, and to enhance the talent pool.
 
“Key markets in Asia and the Middle East are now witnessing rapid economic growth and expansion which in turn brings the need for responsive investment banking and capital markets. To cater to the evolving needs of end-users and to build new capabilities, it is essential for the Islamic finance industry to develop new financial products and services that support both mature and new markets. This in turn requires strong integration and economic inter-linkages between the key markets for Islamic finance," said Toby O’ Connor, Chief Executive Officer, The Islamic Bank of Asia. 

"Islamic banks need to build international connectivity and scalable platforms that can connect with businesses and financial institutions beyond borders. Achieving greater international connectivity enables greater scope for expanding the boundaries of Islamic finance."

Muzaffar Hisham, Head, Group Islamic Banking, Maybank and Chief Executive Officer, Maybank Islamic highlighted the need to improve both local and international capabilities in the industry: “Despite uncertainty within the global financial markets over the last 12 months, quantitative easing in the United States, a marked slowdown of growth in China and deep restructuring in the Euro-Zone, the Islamic banking industry has seen yet another bumper year in terms of growth and resilience. 

"An even more encouraging sign we see today is the industry's efforts to globalise, reflecting increased understanding and appetite from industry players and investors globally. The announcement of the UK and Hong Kong sovereign sukuk are testament of an industry entering a new phase of growth. However, in order to support and ensure sustainable growth within the non-natural markets internationally, there must be more emphasis on cohesion, consistency and transparency and in increasing international linkages via increased cross-border capital market transactions, and anchoring domestic driven gains”. 

Speaking from Bahrain ahead of the conference Adnan Ahmed Yousif,  President and Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, added: “Industry leaders are looking to boost cross-border growth opportunities in Islamic finance - and Asia is considered as one of the fastest growing markets for Islamic finance. The demand for Islamic finance products will continue to grow not only due to the recovery in global economic activities, but also due to more supportive regulatory policies and more sovereign and corporate issuers tapping into sukuk. 

"Many of the high growth potential markets in the global economy are in the Islamic world and this economic growth in key markets across Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa will further boost the Islamic finance industry. With its strong links to the real economy Islamic finance has a key role to play in the development needs of these countries and Asia, with its sustained growth levels, has tremendous opportunities to further boost cross-border capital and trade flows with the Middle East."

Fifth annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Singapore this June

The fifth annual World Islamic Banking Conference will be held in Singapore from June 2 to 4 at the Pan Pacific Hotel.There will be a pre-conference workshop on June 2, with the conference proper running over the remaining two days.

Ravi Menon, Governor, Monetary Authority of Singapore, will deliver the welcome address on June 3, followed by a keynote from Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Singapore Ambassador to Kuwait and Foreign Minister's Special Envoy to the Middle East. The keynote speaker on the next day is Jaseem Ahmed,
Secretary-General, Islamic Financial Services Board. 

More information about the event can be found here.