Summit Notebook
Exclusive outtakes from industry leaders
Fatwa shopping? Not for Barclays
The limited number of Sharia scholars has meant the same
group of men are on various advisory boards which has led to criticism
that people can go “fatwa shopping” and that scholars are in it for the money.
Not so, says Harris Irfan, head of Islamic products at
Barclays Capital.
“We’re not out fatwa shopping,” he said at the Reuters
Islamic Banking and Finance Summit. “We want to work with the
scholar who’s willing to say ‘no’ (to non-Sharia products)”
A study last year by Funds at Work, a consultant for the
fund industry, looked at scholars’ engagement by financial firms
in the Gulf Arab region. It found the top 10 scholars hold about
46 percent of all available positions in the region.
Internationally, excluding the Gulf, the top 10 scholars –
out of 70 active outside the region — hold 58 percent of board
positions.
Skeletons in the closet, sprawling ownership stymie Gulf bank consolidation
Anyone waiting for Gulf banks to consolidate — a long talked about prospect — can forget about it for now.
With debt markets shut, leaving only pricey equity financing, budding suitors are standing frozen, unable to make a commitment.
from Global Investing:
Clear road ahead for depressed Dubai
Dubai's deepening real estate slump has brought unexpected benefits to its time-poor urban residents.
Speaking at the Global Islamic Financing Summit, Dr. Humayon Dar, CEO of Shariah-compliant consultancy BMB Islamic, said Dubai was a much nicer place to live now that the immature infrastructure system was not overwhelmed with construction traffic and armies of property speculators.
