The growing influence and practice of Islamic finance has been recognised through the creation of a London-based training programme for industry professionals.
The programme, which was launched by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Ian Luder, on Wednesday (May 27th), is being run the Islamic Banking Finance Centre UK (IBFC-UK).
The aim of the course is to enable financial services centres such as London to better cater for the requirements of Islamic finance, which is guided by Shariah, or Islamic law, principles.
The Lord Mayor of the City of London said: “Despite the current global financial crisis, Islamic finance continues its growth as an increasingly viable alternative banking system for both Muslims and non-Muslims. It will be a vital component of the new global financial infrastructure.”
IBFC-UK has been established in partnership with the Islamic Banking & Finance Institute in Malaysia (IBFIM) and Cardiff University’s Business School and Centre of Islam. Its role is to provide research and training for private and public organisations and clients include insurance companies, banks, non-financial businesses and academic institutions.
Akmal Hanuk, chief executive of IBFC-UK, said: “The Islamic finance sector is expanding at an exponential rate and is now estimated to be worth $1.2 trillion globally and growing faster than any of the conventional banks, between 15-20%. This is due to its strong financial principles and ethical values, which prohibits the charging or paying of interest and encourages mutual risk and profit sharing between parties.”
The UK Programme has been launched in conjunction with International Business Wales (IBW), the Welsh Assembly Government’s trade and investment arm and will be rolled out in Wales initially before other areas of the UK and the rest of the world are targeted.
There are three main components of the course, covering training for finance industry professionals, finance regulators and those in educational roles who want to become accredited in Islamic finance training.
