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GCC banks at a crossroads
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Innovation will ensure GCC banks will not just survive, but thrive, in these uncertain times
by David Parker
December 23, 2020
The Oriental Bank opened its first branch in Bahrain over 100 years ago, marking the beginning of the entire GCC’s banking and finance industry.
A century later, the industry faces challenges unlike any it has seen before. Most pressing and recent among these has been the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the near-unprecedented uncertainty of the post-Covid era, which stretches out before us for the foreseeable future. From an operational perspective, the industry has been shaken to its core, as like elsewhere in the world, the region’s banks raced to introduce robust measures to protect staff and customers, such as comprehensive plans for remote working, as well as introd
High taxes to stymie sukuk market in corporate sector
Analysts say
High taxes on asset transfers act as the main obstacle to creating a vibrant Sukuk market in the corporate sector, according to market intermediaries.
Sukuk is a real asset-backed security which represents the claim on revenues generated from an underlying asset as well as the ownership of that said asset while abiding by sharia laws.
Although there have been some complexities given the tax issues, the latest initiative taken by the government and the central bank is expected to speed up the process.
The central bank will roll out a Sukuk bond next week in order to raise Tk 8,000 crore for the implementation of a government project that will ensure supply of safe water in every upazila.
th
2020 – Bahrain ranked in the world’s top five Islamic finance economies, according to the latest annual Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI).
The Kingdom, which has led MENA in all eight IFDIs to date, ranked in third place globally this year. 135 countries in total are ranked as part of the index.
The IFDI is part of the annual Islamic Finance Development Report produced by
Refinitiv and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector development arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
The IFDI provides an annual rank for each economy in the global Islamic finance industry, aggregating scores across five areas – quantitative development, knowledge, governance, corporate social responsibility, and awareness.