KARACHI: Islamic banking is rapidly growing and the global landscape of Islamic finance has grown to approximately $ 3 trillion.

The IBA Center for Excellence in Islamic Finance (IBA-CEIF), in collaboration with Center of Excellence in Journalism (CEJ), conducted a one-day capacity building session titled, “Islamic Finance for Media Professionals” at IBA City Campus.

The event was attended by various journalists and media professionals from different news and TV channels, who gained insights about the growing market of Islamic banking and finance, its core principles, practices and its growing importance in the global financial landscape.

The session was led by Ahmed Ali Siddiqui Director IBA CEIF, who provided insights about the basic working model and differences of Islamic & conventional banking.

He also discussed growth trend of the local Islamic banking industry that is now over 20 percent of the banking market and also highlighted the global landscape of Islamic Finance that has grown to approximately $ 3 trillion.

According to estimates done by IBA CEIF, if all stakeholders combine their efforts and level playing field related to regulation& legal framework is provided to the industry along with required HR training and mass awareness campaigns then we can expect aggressive growth.

Moreover if major conventional banks started their conversion to Islamic banking based on the Federal Shariat Court decision and the SBP vision to convert the system to Shariah Compliant banking then the sector can witness yearly growth at the rate of 40 to 45% in Pakistan. Islamic banking assets have the potential to grow up to Rs. 40 trillion and deposits is also expected to reachRs.33 trillion by 2027.

During the session Faisal Shaikh, Head of Islamic banking discussed the successful conversion journey of Faysal Bank to a full-fledged Islamic bank that was termed by many experts as largest conversion of an Islamic bank with over 200 branches.

The role of the SBP to promote Islamic banking in Pakistan was discussed by Islam Ahmed Ex. Senior Joint Director, SBP. He also shared the regulatory and Shariah governance steps in Pakistan to convert the banking system to Islamic principles.

The participants appreciated the opportunity to learn about Islamic finance and its unique perspective on ethical and sustainable investing. The participants also expressed desire in learning more about Islamic finance, and its role in promoting economic development and social welfare.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023