Bahrain was the venue for a major conference on Islamic banking this week, with some startling figures on the sector’s growth on the agenda, along with news of the establishment of a giant new lender.
The two-day event, the first International Islamic Financial Markets Conference (IIFMC), was held under the patronage of the governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA), Rasheed Mohammad al-Maraj. It was the fruit of work by the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (GCIBFI), with support from the BMA and the Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
“The purpose of the conference was served, and all participants benefited from sessions,” IIFM chief executive officer, Ijlal Alvi told the press afterwards. “The conference was beneficial for Islamic market development institutions such as IIFM as a number of initiatives were identified on which development work can commence.”
The conference was also the venue for a major announcement – the establishment of a new $2bn wholesale Islamic bank, due to open in June.
