According to the Times Online the global Islamic finance market is growing at a rate of 15% per year and is expected to be valued at $1,000 billion by 2010.
The UK alone has seen this finance sector grow to £500 million as a report reveals 400,000 Muslims hold Sharia-compliant products.
Islamic financial products are designed to comply with the belief system of the Islamic religion. With an estimated 3 million Muslims living in the UK, the market potential is quite large. However, now even non-Muslim Britons are becoming customers due to the ethical fabric that makes up Sharia-compliant finance.
Other, more traditional, UK banks are stepping into the market such as HSBC Amanah, the Bank of Ireland’s commercial mortgage sector, and Lloyd TSB’s Islamic offerings. This may not be enough for some orthodox Muslims as many UK banks still depend to a certain degree on the interbank market to obtain their funding. The Islamic Bank on the other hand sources their funds from its deposit base therefore do not rely on borrowing from banks that may not qualify as Sharia-compliant.
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