ISLAMABAD: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, Wednesday, said that the SBP is working on an alternate structure to increase issuance of Sukuk.
During the presentation on Islamic Banking system, the governor SBP informed the Senate Standing Committee on Finance that the demand of Sukuk is increasing in the market. The Sukuk structure in Pakistan is different from other countries, as we have assets-based Sukuk structure, he said.
The SBP in consultation with the Islamic scholars is looking forward to finalising an alternate structure for issuance of Sukuk. There are some reservations of the Shariah scholars on assets-based structure, which would be addressed. We are in touch with the Islamic scholars in this regard, he added.
Meanwhile, SBP officials informed the committee about the comparison of financing rates of Islamic banking and conventional banking system. The weighted average rate on outstanding loans/ financing trend revealed that the conventional banks have rate of 22.2 per cent on July 2024 as compared to 21.1 per cent for Islamic banks.
In terms of assets, the share of Islamic banking in the overall banking industry stood at 18.8 per cent as on June 2024.
Within the category of deposits, the share of Islamic banking in the overall banking industry stood at 22.7 per cent as on June 2024.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024