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| Bangladesh | |
| Islami Bank denies terror finance link | |
| 2013-03-30 | |
"Our regulator may ban our banking activities if it finds any of our transactions are related to terror financing," he said. "Islami Bank does not belong to any political party and is a bank of 16 million people, he continued, "Over the last few months, our deposit accounts and deposits have been increasing thanks to our clients' trust." He also said the bank was not against Bangladesh and its flag. Prof Zaher was speaking at the bank's 30th anniversary ceremony of banking services at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital. Islami Bank started its journey in 1983 with 70 percent stake belonging to foreign sponsors, 5 percent to the government, 15 percent to local sponsors and 10 percent to general shareholders, its officials said. Islamic Development Bank is the biggest foreign sponsor of the bank, said the officials, adding that institutional investor JP Morgan also has a stake in the bank. According to the banks website, three ministries of Kuwait -- Public Institution for Social Security, Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and Ministry of Justice and Department of Minors Affairs Kuwait Finance House -- Jordan Islami Bank, Dubai Islami Bank and Al-Rajhi Company for Currency Exchange and Commerce, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... are also the leading sponsors of the bank. "We have no plan to sell our stakes, rather we want to buy more if any one wishes to sell," said Salauddin Ahmed, representative of Kuwait Finance House, Kuwait and an elected director of Islami Bank. He said this referring to news reports that the bank's foreign sponsors were selling their shares in the wake of Shahbagh movement. "We are proud to be a shareholder of a leading bank that runs under Sharia law, he said. Two basic principals of Islami banking are: sharing profit and loss with the client and most significantly prohibition on collection and payment of interest. Charging interest on loans is not permitted in Islamic law. Chairman of IFIC Bank Salman F Rahman, who was present at the ceremony, said "Finance Ministers of America and Europe have opined that they could have avoided the recession had they followed Sharia banking system." Aftab ul Islam, president of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, said Islami Bank was the best compliance bank in the country. Speaking of the bank's performance in many financial areas, Managing Director of Islami Bank Mohammad Abdul Mannan said the bank was playing a significant role in socio-economic development of the country by contributing to higher growth in remittance, industrialisation and export-import businesses. The bank was listed in Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1985. Its share traded at Tk 43.3 on Thursday, according to DSE website. | |
| Posted by:Fred |